Watercress Salad with Masala Fried Fish and Potatoes
Recipe by Suze Morrison, Gourmet Glow | Photography by Lara Jane Thorpe
Ingredients:
4 Red Mullet Fillets (Or Mackerel, salmon, sardines etc)
1 Onion, finely sliced
800g Baby Potatoes, skin on
4 tbsp Oil
Pinch salt
2 tsp Nigella Seeds
200g Watercress
20g Basmati Rice
Lemon to serve
Masala Spice Blend:
1 tsp Turmeric
2tsp Chilli Powder
1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
1 tsp Salt
Raita:
300g Full Fat Greek Yogurt
½ Cucumber, seeds removed, julienne
1 Clove Garlic, minced
½ tsp Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Nigella Seeds
1 tsp Oil
Pinch Salt
Method:
Begin with the roasted rice. Add the rice to a dry frying pan over the highest heat. Toast, shaking the pan until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Remove, allow to cool then grind to a coarse crumb in a blender. Set aside in a jar (this keeps for ages and adds great crunch to salads)
For the raita, mix the yogurt, cucumber, garlic and salt in a bowl. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin and nigella seeds. Fry until they begin to pop then mix with the yoghurt and allow to rest.
Add the potatoes to a pan, cover with cold water and cook until just tender. Remove, drain and allow to steam until completely dry. If you have time, transfer them to the fridge on a wire rack to get really dry.
Rub the spice mix over your fish fillets. Set aside while you cook the potatoes & onion.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with a little salt and set aside.
Add the potatoes to the hot oil and press down with a fork to lightly crush. You want to retain some shape but give lots of crumbly edges to go super crispy. Fry for 2-3 minutes until a crust forms, sprinkle with the salt & nigella and flip.
Continue to cook until all the edges are crisp (you may need to cook in batches) and set aside.
Heat a splash more oil in the pan and add the fish fillets skin side down. Have the heat on medium-high to prevent the edges from curling up. If they do, the heat is too high and the skin may scorch. Cook for 2 minutes, flip and cook 1 minute more.
Remove from the heat and allow to rest while you assemble the salad.
Lay the watercress on a platter and tumble over the potatoes. Spoon over the raita, top with the fried fish and finally the crispy onions and 2 tbsp roasted rice. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing.
