Mackerel is one of my favourite fish and Mexican is one of my favourite cuisines… so perfection is mashing these two together! This mackerel rice bowl with black beans, sweet potato and red pepper is ideal for brightening up family dinnertime and will surely be a hit with everyone. It’s pretty speedy to prepare, too and it’s largely prepared with store-cupboard staples. If you don’t have or can’t get Mexican-spiced rice, cook whole-grain rice in the usual manner, then drain and fry for a few minutes with 2 tbsp Mexican spice powder (see below), 1 tsp chilli flakes and 1 tbsp lime zest.
Prep time: 5 minutes/Cook time: 30 minutes/Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato, scrubbed and cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1½ tbsp olive oil
500g (1 lb) wholegrain spicy Mexican-inspired rice
125g (4 1/2 oz) tin mackerel in tomato sauce
400g (14 oz) tin black beans, drained
1 lime, zested and juiced
15g (1/2 oz) fresh coriander, roughly chopped (optional)
For the Mexican Spice Blend:
2 tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper or chipotle pepper
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan/400°F/Gas Mark 6). For the Mexican spice blend, simply stir the ingredients together and store in a jar until needed.
Combine the sweet potato and pepper in a roasting tin, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and season (also scatter over 1 tsp Mexican spice blend). Roast for 30 mins until the veg is tender and golden around the edges.
After 20 mins, heat the remaining oil in a large, deep, frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rice and fry for 4-5 mins until steaming and broken up. Flake in the mackerel and fry for 3-4 mins more until piping hot.
Stir through the beans and half the roasted veg; fry for 1-2 mins to warm through, then remove from the heat. Squeeze over the lime juice and top with the remaining roasted veg, the lime zest and coriander, if using.
