This Gordon Ramsay mackerel and potato salad pairs grilled mackerel with warm new potatoes dressed in crème fraîche, capers and dill, ready in 25 minutes. The oily richness of mackerel works even better with the sharp creamy dressing than the salmon in Ramsay’s original.
In Quick and Delicious, Ramsay serves this potato salad with pan-fried salmon. We have swapped it for mackerel because it is cheaper, more sustainable, and the stronger flavour stands up to the dressing without disappearing. He grills mackerel elsewhere in the same book, so the pairing is one he would recognise.
The key technique is cooking the potatoes with a bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns in the water. Ramsay treats the cooking liquid as a stock, infusing the potatoes with aromatics. Combined with dressing them while still warm, this means they taste seasoned through to the centre.
Gordon Ramsay Mackerel and Potato Salad
Course: Salads, Mains4
servings10
minutes15
minutes25
minutesGrilled mackerel fillets served with Ramsay’s warm potato salad from Quick and Delicious: new potatoes boiled with bay leaf and thyme, dressed warm in crème fraîche, capers and dill.
Ingredients
4 mackerel fillets, skin on and pin-boned
1 tbsp olive oil
700g (1 lb 9 oz) new potatoes, such as Charlotte
1 bay leaf
2 thyme sprigs
5 black peppercorns
2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
150g (5 oz) crème fraîche
2 tbsp nonpareille capers
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges, to serve
Directions
- Boil the potatoes: Pour boiling water into a saucepan, add the potatoes, half a teaspoon of salt, the bay leaf, thyme sprigs and peppercorns. Cover, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until cooked through.
- Grill the mackerel: While the potatoes cook, score the mackerel skin at 1cm intervals. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill skin side up under a hot grill for 3 to 4 minutes until the skin is crisp and blistered, then turn and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. The flesh should be just cooked through.
- Dress the potatoes warm: Drain the potatoes and discard the bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Slice the hot potatoes in half and put them in a bowl with the shallots, dill, crème fraîche and capers. Stir gently and season generously with salt and pepper.
- Serve: Place the mackerel fillets on plates with a generous spoonful of warm potatoes and a lemon wedge alongside.
FAQs
Why swap the salmon for mackerel?
Ramsay’s original recipe in Quick and Delicious uses pan-fried salmon. Mackerel works better here because its oily, robust flavour matches the sharpness of the capers and crème fraîche without getting lost. It is also cheaper (roughly half the price per fillet at most fishmongers), more sustainably caught in UK waters, and cooks faster under the grill than salmon does in a pan.
How does this compare to Rick Stein’s mackerel?
Rick Stein tends to take mackerel in bolder directions: devilled with cayenne, paprika and mustard, or Goan-style with recheado paste. His potato salads lean towards herring and Scandinavian flavours. Ramsay’s approach here is quieter: just crème fraîche, dill and capers, letting the mackerel speak for itself. Stein’s is more adventurous. Ramsay’s is more refined.
Can you use smoked mackerel instead of fresh?
Yes, and it makes the recipe even faster since smoked mackerel is already cooked. Flake it into large chunks and scatter over the dressed potatoes rather than grilling it. The smokiness adds another flavour layer that works well with the dill and capers. The tradeoff is you lose the crispy skin, which is one of the best parts of fresh grilled mackerel.
What should you serve mackerel potato salad with?
It is a complete meal on its own with a green salad alongside. A handful of watercress or his Italian rocket salad would sharpen the plate. For a bigger spread, pair it with his beetroot salad as the earthy sweetness of beetroot and the richness of mackerel complement each other well.
How do you stop mackerel tasting too fishy?
Freshness is everything. Mackerel deteriorates faster than almost any other fish, so buy it the day you plan to cook it and check that the eyes are clear and the skin is firm. Scoring the skin before grilling renders out excess oil, which carries most of the stronger flavour. The lemon wedge at the end is not decoration: a good squeeze of acid cuts through any remaining oiliness and brightens the whole plate.
Does mackerel potato salad keep well?
The potato salad keeps for a day in the fridge. The mackerel does not: it dries out and the oils oxidise, giving it an unpleasant taste. Cook the mackerel fresh each time and only store the dressed potatoes separately. Reheat the potatoes gently or bring to room temperature before serving, as the crème fraîche splits if heated too aggressively. For more salads with fish from his cookbooks, browse the guide.
