Samphire Stuffed Mackerel With Alexanders & Wild Fennel Seeds

Baked mackerel coated in Alexanders & Wild Fennel Seeds, then stuffed with Marsh Samphire brings this dish alive with the full flavours of estuary & seashore.

I gathered the marsh samphire and wild seeds over a 50 foot area while walking my trusted hound. The mackerel I bought from Mary & Kay at Sidmouth Trawlers, whose family have been sustainably fishing Lyme Bay for generations. It’s as local and fresh as it gets without having to catch the blighters yourself!

Marsh Samphire Recipe Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons medium pinhead oatmeal
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon crushed Wild Fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon crushed Alexanders seeds
• Salt and black pepper
• 6 whole mackerel, cleaned with heads left on
• Marsh samphire
• Lemon slices
• Olive oil

Marsh Samphire Recipe Instructions

1. Combine the first five ingredients and spread out on a large plate
2. Wet the mackerel under a cold tap, shake and roll them in the dry mixture. Lay them on an oiled baking tray.
3. Tuck a couple of lemon slices in each body cavity with some marsh samphire spilling out. Sprinkle over a generous amount of olive oil
4. Place in a hot oven at 200ºC or gas 6 for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the fish.

Serves 6

Further Reading

• Alexanders – A Foraging Guide to Its Food, Medicine and Other Uses