When he’s not making fly fishing videos, or talking about fly fishing, in his spare time The Mission’s content coordinator Matt Kennedy goes… fly fishing. Sometimes that results in fresh fish for dinner. 

“I live in the Deep South, an hour away from Cape Town city centre, below the lentil curtain, an invisible boundary separating the vegans, surfers and all manner of hippie from the rest of society. Having False Bay on my doorstep, previously famous for having the highest concentration of great white sharks in the world, means that I can easily pop out on my Aqua Marina Atlas SUP for a session whenever the weather allows. (Apparently, due to orca predation, the sharks are now gone.) One of the many critters willing to eat a stripped Clouser is the feisty Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) which patrols the reefs near Simon’s Town harbour. The odd bigger fish offers a decent fight on a 5-weight, and more so, offers a healthy oil-rich fillet for the pot or, in our case, the tortilla.” 

Ingredients for mackerel tacos (serves 2) 

• 2X 40cm mackerel, filleted with skin on. 
• Asian slaw; incl. 2 carrots, ½ baby purple cabbage, handful fresh coriander.  
• ½ cup mixed seeds; including sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.  
• Asian dressing (any combo of sesame oil, soy sauce, lime/lemon juice and other things like garlic, ginger, chilli or whatever you like). 
• 4 soft-shell tortillas. 

Note: You need to use fillets from fish that are at least 40cm fork length. Any smaller and the filleting becomes very finicky. 

Method for making mackerel tacos

• Shred the carrot, purple cabbage and coriander into a bowl. 
• Dry fry the seed mix in a pan until toasted.  
• Toss Asian dressing and toasted seeds in with slaw.  
• Fillet the mackerel, leaving the skin on either flank. 
• Fry the fillet skin-side down on a medium heat in a mixture of butter and garlic. 
• Serve a handful of slaw onto a warm tortilla, topped with a mackerel fillet.  
• Fold, wrap, serve and enjoy. 

SHOP THE MISSION

This Munchies came straight out of The Mission issue 52. Read the full thing below.