(You Will Love This) Mackerel Tartare With Horseradish and Dill
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The powerful flavors in this tartare — often an appetizer at Queen St. Bar & Grill — come together in something like an exercise in restrained extremism. Mackerel is sometimes considered a “fishy” fish, but here it is balanced with equally loud flavors like horseradish, capers and dill. Even people who typically don’t like mackerel usually love this dish. This tartare goes great with a rye cracker or Ritz. You would not be upset if you paired this with aquavit or horseradish vodka.
Spanish mackerel is ideal because its buttery flavor and slightly funky nature balance against the other flavors, but you can also use Japanese mackerel, king mackerel, yellowtail, snapper, salmon or ocean trout.
Mackerel Tartare With Horseradish and Dill
Cut the fish into roughly ¼-inch cubes. Place in the fridge, covered, to keep cold while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, combine the cucumbers, crème fraîche, horseradish, cornichons, capers, lemon juice, parsley, chives, dill, 12 twists of black pepper and the flaky sea salt.
Give it all a nice stir to combine and then fold in the mackerel, making sure every piece is well coated.
Spoon it onto a serving plate in a single layer, then drizzle the olive oil over the top. Crack a few more twists of black pepper over the top, then sprinkle it with more parsley, chives and dill to make it look fun and vibrant.
Serve immediately with crackers.
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