At night, the watersides of the Golden Horn inlet come alive with people out for supper. While you can spend a lot of money in one of the many fish restaurants, there is little better than a freshly made fish sandwich (almost always mackerel), from one of the dozens of grills that are rolled out every evening.

The fish is incredibly fresh, cooked in front of you before being tucked into a baguette alongside thin slivers of salted onion, herbs and juicy tomato. Eating one perched on a wall or plastic stool, with a cold beer in hand, beats most restaurant meals.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 onion, halved and thinly sliced into half moons
2 small, long green peppers
or 2 wide strips a green capsicum
1 baguette
olive oil, for brushing
2 mackerel fillets
2 ripe and juicy tomatoes, thickly sliced
Quick red pepper paste
pul biber or mild chilli flakes, to taste
handful rocket
4 mint sprigs
5-6 dill sprigs
freshly ground black pepper
lemon juice
salt

METHOD

Sprinkle a little salt over the onions and mix well. Under the grill or in a pan over a high heat, cook the peppers or pepper strips, skin-side down, until they begin to char slightly. Remove from the heat.

Cut the baguette into pieces the same length as the fish fillets. Split down the middle and lightly toast both sides, either under the preheated grill or in a griddle pan. Brush the cut sides with olive oil. Keep warm.

Meanwhile, griddle or pan-fry the mackerel fillets over a high heat for 3–4 minutes each side until the skin has begun to crisp up and the fish is cooked through. Take the warm toasted bread and place slices of tomato on one of the cut sides.

Smear the other side with a little homemade pepper paste, if using. Place the fish on top of the tomatoes and then add the other ingredients, finishing with grilled pepper and pul biber or mild chilli flakes, if using. Season, squeeze over a little lemon juice, cap with the other half of the bread and eat straightaway.

Recipe appears courtesy of Cooked.com.au.

This recipe first appeared in Istanbul by Rebecca Seal