Whole grilled mackerel, cucumber & dill salad_By Chef and Restauranteur Jeremy Lee

To feed 6 Cooking time 10 -15 minutes, Prep time 5 minutes and a little waiting

6 beautifully fresh mackerel, gutted, cleaned and fins removed (or 12 smaller mackerel)

Plenty of sea salt

A fully charged pepper mill

Two tablespoons of light oil

3 cucumbers

1 tablespoon of caster sugar

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard

7 tablespoons of good olive oil

2 tablespoons of chopped dill

3 lemons

Hours in advance, prepare the cucumber salad. Peel the cucumbers, cut them lengthways and remove the seeds. Slice the cucumbers on a steep diagonal, roughly 4-5mm in thickness. Place in a bowl and toss with two teaspoons of sea salt. Let sit for an hour or so. 

Now, to make the dressing, firstly dissolve the sugar in the white wine vinegar. Stir in the Dijon mustard and whisk well. With care, add in the olive oil, then the chopped dill.

Wash well the cucumber, drain thoroughly and dry in cloths. In a bowl, mix together the cucumber, dill and dressing.

Heat the grill, I am very fond of Le Creuset grill that sits so very well over two rings on the cooker, over a modest heat.

Brush the mackerel with the  light oil and season evenly with sea salt.  Lay the fish on the grill and leave undisturbed for 5-7 minutes until lightly blistered and charred, then carefully turn. Cook the other side for 5-7 minutes also. It may be wise to do these in two lots as fish do not grill happily when sat side by side in too close a proximity and the heat is not even over two hobs.

Place the cooked fish on plates and heap the cucumber salad alongside with half a lemon.

Photography @timatkinsphoto

Food Styling @iaingrahamchef

Fish from @finandflounder