Oven Roasted Mackerel with Sicilian Orange Fennel & Chickpeas

HomeClinics & ProgramsELLICSR KitchenOven Roasted Mackerel with Sicilian Orange Fennel & Chickpeas

Skill Level	Intermediate

Preparation Time	15 minutes	Total Time	35 minutes
Servings	6	Cost Per Serving	$3.58

4	Whole Mackerel, cleaned, filleted, and de-boned (get your fishmonger to do this)
1 bulb	Fennel, thinly sliced
1 cup	Cherry Tomatoes, halved
2 cups	Cooked Chickpeas (canned or from dried)
2	Oranges
1	Lemon
1/2 cup	Parsley
2 cloves	Garlic
2 tbsp	Pine Nuts, toasted
5	Bay Leaves, fresh or dried
2 tbsp	Olive Oil
1 tbsp	White Wine Vinegar (any vinegar will work)
To Taste	Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lay out the sliced fennel, cherry tomatoes and chickpeas in a large baking dish.
Remove the zest from the oranges and lemon using a rasp, and set aside. Peel the oranges and slice into ¼ inch circles. Lay them down in the baking dish.
Lay your mackerel fillets across the other ingredients in the baking dish. Top with the bay leaves, orange and lemon zest, a good drizzle of olive oil and some white wine vinegar. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Roughly chop your parsley, garlic, pine nuts and lemon zest, and add to a small bowl. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice, and about 1 tsp of olive oil. Mix well, and pour over the dish to finish.

PDF link to nutrition facts table for oven roasted mackerel

Canada’s Food Guide recommends eating 2 servings (one serving is 75 grams or the size of a deck of cards) of fish per week as part of a healthy diet. Fish is recommended because it is high in protein and low in saturated fat. Many varieties of fish are also sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce the risk of heart disease, and vitamin D, which is needed for bone health and may help reduce cancer risk. Eating fish twice a week may also help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, depression and stroke.
Fish is also rich in nutrients such as vitamin B12 and selenium. Vitamin B12 is needed to make red blood cells and to prevent one type of anemia. Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant, particularly when paired with vitamin E. It is important for a healthy immune system as it is needed to build white blood cells. Selenium also plays a role in thyroid function.
People with cancer tend to have lower levels of selenium, but we don’t know whether this is a cause or an effect of the cancer. If you have low levels of selenium, getting more of it from food may reduce the risk of prostate cancer.