The health benefits of oily mackerel are well known, so enjoy them chargrilled, baked or in a tangy pâté

MACKEREL IS ONE OF THE most nutritional fish we can eat, thanks to the omega 3 oil – also found in salmon, halibut and sardines – that it contains. Ideally we should be eating this kind of fish at least three times a week.

2Mackerel is comparatively inexpensive to buy, but you must ensure it is fresh – it's best eaten on the day it is caught. The delicious rich taste is complemented by sharp flavours such as lemon, horseradish, and gooseberries when in season.

When smoked, mackerel can be used in a number of ways. One of the best pts is made, simply, from smoked mackerel. One thing to beware of when preparing smoked mackerel is to be as careful as possible to remove all the bones. These fish have long, needle-like bones, and they are easy to miss.

My first recipe today is so simple it hardly counts as a recipe, but with summer fast approaching it is extremely useful. It is my favourite way to cook and eat mackerel. The chargrilling takes less than a minute, so it counts as fast-food.

CHARGRILLED FILLETED MACKEREL WITH LEMON DRESSING

SERVES 6

Mackerel is rich, therefore filling – allow one fresh fish per person

With a sharp knife cut the heads from the fish if they are still on. Cut the fish open to its tail, and fillet each side – if your knife is really sharp and flexible this doesn't take a minute. Press the blade hard against the bones, and you will waste scarcely any flesh at all. If you do not feel confident that your knife is sufficiently sharp or flexible, then ask the fishmonger to do this for you.

On a white-hot chargrill put the mackerel fillets skin side down and cook for about 30 seconds. With a metal fish slice turn them over for barely 15 seconds, then lift them from the grill onto a warmed serving plate. The skins char off during the cooking.

Serve with the following lemon dressing which, because it is cold, can be made a day in advance.

For the dressing:

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, skinned and finely diced

1 level teaspoon salt

about 20 grinds of black pepper

finely grated rind and juice of 2 lemons

1 tablespoon chopped dill and 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and fry the finely diced onions, stirring from time to time, until the onions are completely soft and caramelising, about 12-15 minutes. Remember to fry the onions over only a moderately high heat to avoid burning them. The caramelising gives the slight sweetness which is counteracted by the lemon rinds and juice.

When the onions are satisfactorily cooked, stir in the salt and pepper, the grated lemon rinds and juice, and, when cold, the remaining 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the chopped dill and parsley.

If you make the dressing in advance, stir it up very well before spooning it over each serving of chargrilled mackerel fillets.

FLAKED SMOKED MACKEREL, APPLE AND CHIVE PT

SERVES 6

This smoked mackerel pt is textured, with the fish left in juicy flakes, and the apples and horseradish add good contrasting textures and complementary tastes to the fish.

3 smoked mackerel fillets

3 good eating apples

13oz/375g cream cheese

2 teaspoons best quality creamy horseradish sauce, preferably Isabella's Preserves or Moniack

3 tablespoons lemon juice

plenty of black pepper (no need for salt – the fish adds enough saltiness)

2 tablespoons snipped chives

Flake the smoked mackerel into a bowl, carefully removing any bones or skin. Peel, core and neatly chop the apples into thumbnail-sized bits.

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese till soft, adding the horseradish, lemon juice, black pepper and chives. You need the consistency to be soft enough so that you can mix in the chopped apples and the flaked smoked mackerel fairly easily, without breaking up either the fish or the apples more than you can help. When all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, heap the pt into a serving bowl.

This is good with warm brown or granary bread torn in chunks and, if you like, with salad leaves dressed with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.

SWEET AND SOUR MACKEREL WITH WHITE WINE VINEGAR AND PINK PEPPERCORNS

SERVES 6

The pink peppercorns needed for this recipe are those preserved in brine – quite easy to find, either in healthfood shops or in Waitrose or a similar supermarket.

If you like, you can leave out the crme fraiche from the dressing and serve the baked and cooled mackerel fillets just with the chopped parsley and chives.

6 mackerel, filleted and heads removed

11/2 pints/855ml mackerel stock (see stock recipe below)

2 onions, skinned and thinly sliced

1/2 pint/285ml best white wine vinegar

3 teaspoons pink peppercorns

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley and snipped chives, mixed

1 pint/570ml crme fraiche

For the stock:

heads and bones of the mackerel carcases

2 onions, skinned and chopped

2 sticks of celery, washed and chopped

a blade of fennel

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

2 bay leaves

some crushed parsley stalks

To make the stock, put the mackerel carcases in a pan with the onion, celery, fennel, peppercorns, salt, bay leaves and parsley stalks, and add water to cover. Boil for 30 minutes, then cool, and strain off the stock.

To cook the fish, put the filleted mackerel into a wide ovenproof dish. Cover them with the thinly sliced onions. Pour the stock and white wine vinegar over them, immersing them in the liquid. Cover the dish with a lid, if it has one, or with baking parchment tucked under the dish – foil is such a rotten conductor of heat that it makes the cooking time difficult to calculate.

Bake in a moderately low oven, 150C/300F/Gas Mark 3, for 35-40 minutes, then check that the fish is cooked and if it looks undercooked for your liking re-cover the dish and continue to cook for a further ten minutes. When cooked, take the dish from the oven and leave to cool.

To serve, mix the chopped parsley and chives with the crme fraiche. Carefully lift out the mackerel fillets onto a serving dish – with the sliced onions or not, as you choose. Spread the crme fraiche and herbs over the top. You can do this several hours before serving. This dish is best with a mixed leaf salad, and a rice salad. n For details on Claire's three-day residential cookery demonstrations at Kinloch Lodge, tel: [phone] or visit www.claire-macdonald.com

To test if a mackerel is fresh, lift it horizontally by the head – it shouldn't droop if it's in prime condition.