{"id":9377,"date":"2016-08-28T00:11:17","date_gmt":"2016-08-28T00:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=9377"},"modified":"2016-08-28T00:11:17","modified_gmt":"2016-08-28T00:11:17","slug":"mackerel-mushrooms-herbs-cucumber-tarragon-scallion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=9377","title":{"rendered":"mackerel, mushrooms, herbs; cucumber, tarragon, scallion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"mackerel_mushrooms_cucumber\"<\/p>\n

I was at the Pura Vida fish display\u00a0cases. The mackerel were beautiful, so I hardly hesitated before\u00a0choosing them for our entr\u00e9e on Friday night.\u00a0Then Paul told me that, just 2 stalls down, Joe Rizzo had some beautiful Boletus mushrooms. I’m not an expert, but even I knew that sounded pretty special.<\/p>\n

\"Boletus\"<\/p>\n

I love mushrooms, but I’m far less familiar with these wonderful fungi than I\u00a0have eventually become with fish. I was also nonplussed,\u00a0because\u00a0I knew mushrooms should be used on the day they’re\u00a0brought\u00a0home.<\/p>\n

At least initially, to me the combination of mackerel and mushroom seemed like anything but\u00a0a natural.\u00a0I mentioned my\u00a0doubts to Paul, but\u00a0he would have none of it. I quickly checked\u00a0Google on my phone,\u00a0to see if anything showed up with a search under the words, words,\u00a0‘mackerel’ and ‘mushrooms’. I couldn’t find much, partly on account of the glare outside on the pavement,\u00a0but I decided I’d give the combo a try, thinking I would be able to uncover something interesting\u00a0on my\u00a0laptop once I had returned home.<\/p>\n

Bonanza!<\/p>\n

I found\u00a0a modest site<\/a> I had never come across before, with\u00a0what seemed a perfect fit. The recipe<\/a> asked only for ingredients I had on hand (there were very few ingredients, in fact), and it was extremely simple (so simple I originally had my doubts about its virtues). Then, as I thought about it more, it made perfect sense, especially since the\u00a0acidity of a little lemon was involved, appropriate for this rich oily fish, and I was\u00a0going to be able\u00a0accompany the mackerel\u00a0and the mushrooms with some refreshingly juicy saut\u00e9ed cucumbers.<\/p>\n

\"Barese_cucumbers\"<\/p>\n

It turned out\u00a0wonderful, and it has freed my mackerel from its\u00a0long bondage with tomato salsa<\/a>, not however as a substitute for that excellent classic\u00a0formula, but as perhaps only the first\u00a0of a number of new alternatives to it.<\/p>\n