Recipes Glazed Mackerel with Fried Eggplant and Mojo 1 Review This terrific mackerel from chef Jose Enrique has a great array of textures and flavors: flaky fish fillets, airy pieces of fried eggplant and a super spicy garlic-and-citrus mojo sauce. Slideshow: Quick Fish Recipes By Jose Enrique Jose Enrique Won Best New Chef At Jose Enrique, San Juan, Puerto Rico Why He’s Amazing Because he’s elevating Puerto Rican cooking, using ingredients from the vast market across the street from his restaurant. The chalkboard menu changes frequently during the evening, based on what the purveyors might bring in during dinner service. Born 1977; San Juan, Puerto Rico Culinary School The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY) Background Riche (New Orleans), Bili (Vieques, Puerto Rico), San Juan Water Beach Club (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Café Centro (New York City) Quintessential Dish Crispy fried yellowtail snapper with mashed batata (sweet potato) and papaya-avocado salsa How He Got Into Cooking “A lot of people cook in my family. My grandmothers, my dad, my mom; everyone does a couple of great dishes. My uncle would make Thanksgiving—huge turkeys stuffed with blood sausage. It was always fun.” Beloved Cooking Equipment “My dad made his own Caja China. Picture a metal square oven with the heat coming from the top. He’d cook pork. The first few hours the pork is belly up, so all the fat drips down and confits the belly. Then he flips it over and the skin gets blown up and crispy. Kids fight over it. My dad’s Caja China is on wheels, it’s portable, he’ll set it up anywhere.” Bringing It Home Enrique cooked around the world, in Belgium, France and the US, before returning to the neighborhood where he was born, to open his flagship restaurant. Other Projects In San Juan, Enrique also runs Capital, a popular brasserie, and the coffeehouse Miel. In late 2013, he’ll open a restaurant in the eco-minded El Blok hotel in Vieques.Story of Discovery “Until recently, I’d never been blown away by Puerto Rican food; the dishes I’d tried were always a little heavy and a little bland. But Jose Enrique and his bright, sharp, fresh flavors have changed my mind. At his restaurant—a casual place in an old house where weekend parties erupt on the street outside—he writes his menu on white boards, which allows him to add dishes in the middle of service. When I was there, he listed grilled thin swordfish steaks, from a fish that had been delivered just hours before, pairing it with his outstanding hot sauce made from chiles that he confits in oil for hours with garlic and tomatoes. Blood sausage also appeared on the menu. It was deep black and porky, speckled with chunks of delicious fat. Even better were the blood sausage spring rolls I had another night, baked in crisp spring roll wrappers with a serious swath of cream cheese, which melts into a rich sauce. That’s what a Best New Chef does: takes a cuisine you don’t think you like and turns you into a convert.”—Kate Krader Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on September 1, 2014 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Con Poulos Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Yield: 4 Ingredients Citrus Mojo 6 garlic cloves, minced 1 habanero chile, seeded and minced 1 tablespoon cumin seeds Kosher salt 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup fresh orange juice 1/2 cup fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon minced cilantro 1 tablespoon minced mint Freshly ground pepper Eggplant and Fish 1 1/2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch dice 1 cup fresh orange juice 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger 1 Fresno or jalapeño chile, seeded and thinly sliced 1 teaspoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing Canola oil, for frying 1 cup cornstarch 1/2 cup chopped cilantro 4 6-ounce Spanish mackerel fillets Directions Make the Mojo In a mortar, smash the garlic to a paste with the habanero, cumin seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the garlic-chile paste and whisk over moderately high heat for 30 seconds. Let stand off the heat for 10 minutes. Whisk in the citrus juices and let cool, then stir in the cilantro and mint and season with salt and pepper. Prepare the Eggplant and Fish In a large bowl, cover the eggplant with water and add a small handful of salt. Let soak for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring the citrus juices, ginger, chile, soy sauce and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a boil. Simmer over moderate heat, stirring, until reduced to 2/3 cup, 12 minutes. Season the orange glaze with salt and let cool. In a large saucepan, heat 1 inch of canola oil to 375°. Drain the eggplant and pat dry. In a colander set over a large bowl, toss the eggplant with the cornstarch, shaking off the excess. Working in 2 batches, fry the eggplant over moderately high heat, turning, until lightly browned and crisp, 5 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggplant to a paper towel–lined baking sheet to drain. Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. In a skillet, heat half of the orange glaze. Add the fried eggplant and toss over high heat until hot, 3 minutes. Fold in the cilantro and season with salt; keep warm. Brush the mackerel with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Oil the grill grate or grill pan. Grill the fish skin side down until lightly charred on the bottom, 4 minutes. Brush the fish with the remaining orange glaze, flip and grill, brushing with the orange glaze, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a platter and serve right away with the fried eggplant and mojo. Make Ahead The mojo can be refrigerated for 1 week. Suggested Pairing Zesty Albariño from Spain's Galicia is a great match for oily fish like mackerel. Rate it Print