Mackerel Run Down

The story

Mackerel Run Down is a Jamaican main with a clear sense of place. Run down, also spelled rundown, refers to a Jamaican coconut-milk preparation reduced until rich. Salted or fresh mackerel is one of the best-known versions. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Ingredients

• 700 g fresh or lightly salted mackerel fillets
• 500 ml coconut milk
• 300 g tomatoeschopped
• 160 g onionsliced
• 70 g Spring onionssliced
• 10 g Garliccrushed
• 3 piece fresh thymesprigs
• 1 piece Scotch bonnet chilliwhole
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 20 ml lime juice

Method

1. If using salted mackerel, soak and poach

   If using salted mackerel, soak and poach briefly to remove excess salt, then drain. Fresh mackerel only needs to be checked for bones and cut into large pieces.

   Tip: Reduce the coconut milk before adding fish. The sauce should already have body when the mackerel enters. Avoid: Thin coconut milk and short reduction leave watery sauce; vigorous boiling breaks delicate mackerel; salted fish can easily make the dish too salty.

2. Put coconut milk in a wide saucepan

   Put coconut milk in a wide saucepan and simmer 10–12 minutes until it reduces noticeably and becomes richer; traditional run down depends on this concentration.

   Look for: it reduces noticeably and becomes richer; traditional run down depends on this concentration

3. Add tomato, onion, spring onion, garlic, thyme

   Add tomato, onion, spring onion, garlic, thyme and Scotch bonnet. Simmer another 8 minutes until vegetables soften into the coconut.

   Look for: vegetables soften into the coconut

4. Nestle in the mackerel and cook gently

   Nestle in the mackerel and cook gently 6–8 minutes, turning once, until the fish flakes but still holds in large pieces.

   Look for: the fish flakes but still holds in large pieces

5. Remove the Scotch bonnet, add black pepper

   Remove the Scotch bonnet, add black pepper and lime juice and taste for salt only at the end, especially if salted fish was used.

6. Serve with boiled green banana, yam, breadfruit

   Serve with boiled green banana, yam, breadfruit or dumplings, spooning the reduced coconut sauce over the fish.

   Look for: Fish flakes at light pressure and coconut sauce clings to it rather than running like soup.

Nutrition

per serving

Estimated from the listed ingredients and default serving size. Actual values vary with brands, trimming, absorption and cooking losses.