Royal Stuffed Mackerel Roll

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   The Royal Mackerel Roll calls for just a short list of ingredients. Choose a big, fatty mackerel with a broad back. If yours is small, use two and overlap them as you wrap the roll. For the filling, take carrots, onion, and hard-boiled eggs — you can swap the eggs for grated cheese.

2. Step 2:

   

   Let's start with the filling. Peel, rinse, and finely chop one large onion. Sauté it in vegetable oil until translucent.

3. Step 3:

   

   Scrub the grit off a large carrot, peel it, and grate it on the coarse side of a grater. Add the grated carrot to the skillet with the onion. Stir, season with a little salt and pepper, cook the carrot until half done, and turn off the heat.

4. Step 4:

   

   Transfer the sautéed onion and carrot to a plate and let it cool a little.

5. Step 5:

   

   Peel the hard-boiled eggs and grate them on the coarse side of a grater.

6. Step 6:

   

   Now for the fun part — prepping the fish. I buy mackerel fresh-frozen; just make sure it isn't freezer-burned, hasn't been thawed and refrozen, and has no ice crystals. Mine was a big one, about 600 grams. Rinse the fish and cut off the head and tail. Snip off all the fins with kitchen shears. Carefully slit the belly, clean out the innards, and remove the black membranes.

7. Step 7:

   

   Make cuts along both sides of the backbone and remove it. Then run your fingers over the fillet and pull out any remaining bones — there aren't many, mostly the ribs and a few where the fins were.

8. Step 8:

   

   Lay the prepared mackerel fillet out on a sheet of plastic wrap. Season the fish with salt and pepper and sprinkle with half the gelatin.

9. Step 9:

   

   Start layering the filling. Spread the cooled onion-and-carrot mixture over the fish first, leaving an inch or so of bare edge on each side.

10. Step 10:

    

    Then spread the egg over the fish, again leaving an inch or so on each side. Sprinkle with the rest of the gelatin.

11. Step 11:

    

    Carefully roll it up using the plastic wrap. Then wrap the roll tightly in plastic (4 to 5 layers), turn it, and wrap a few more layers crosswise. For extra security you can also tie the roll with kitchen twine.

12. Step 12:

    

    Lower the roll into a pot of boiling water and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Take it out and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Then set a weight on it (I just lay a cutting board on top and put a carton of milk on the board).

13. Step 13:

    

    Leave the roll in the refrigerator under the weight for 7 hours (overnight). Unwrap it. All that's left is to slice the roll into rounds.