Have no fear! Mackerel is here! Something about this fish makes me excited, driving me towards these corny exclamations... Upon further thought, it is probably because mackerel is a sort of underdog in the complicated world of eating seafood. And I love a good underdog.

True, one fish can't be the answer to getting our fill of seafood without creating further crises in our oceans. In the case of the tasty snapper, and other rock fish that are often sold as snapper, it was once proclaimed to be a safer (mercury wise) and more sustainable option, and now the fish are under major threat. The proclaimers left out that these fish take a good twelve years to grow to maturity and are slow moving, so especially easy to catch. The market interest did a detriment to the species, proving once again that variety, or "eating a rainbow," is always the best way to go. But I digress.

Mackerel has a bad rap largely because the canned version has a famously fishy flavor and aroma. But did you know the reason these fish, and others like sardines, are so widely canned is because they are high in omega-3s, higher than almost any other edible? And this healthy fatty acid breaks down quickly, so getting it from ocean to, say, a Kansas market isn't exactly a walk in the park. If you're not like me and love kippered snacks (I especially enjoy Polar Kiper Snacks, although all Polar's products are not sustainable), there are still a few brands do a good job of keeping the ultra-fishy flavor away, like olive oil-packed Vital Choice Atlantic Mackerel, but better yet try cooking the whole fish yourself. Once you start looking, you'll realize that they aren't too hard to find. And I don't mean to call the mackerel a panacea for our current seafood crisis, but integrating it into your diet in a balanced way can be healthy, delicious, and sustainable. Although these schooling fish are pretty easy to catch in large quantities, and are part of a necessary diet for many larger fish and sea mammals, the regulatory groups have, for the most part, kept these factors in mind and policed strict 15-minute fishing periods when boats can drop their nets for mackerel. More and more fish markets are becoming aware of their fish purveyors, and with the constantly updated Seafood Watch standards (that are uniquely created depending on the part of the country where you live). I buy my mackerel (Pacific, although I highly recommend the different Atlantic variety if it's easily available to you) at my favorite local Chinese grocer, where there are geographic labels on all of the fish, there's a high turn over, and the nice guy behind the fish counter will happily take out the intestines and innards for me. It costs me about $6.50 for a whole fish, which feeds four to six people (depending on what else is served on the side!)

Here's my recipe for whole mackerel - it can be eaten hot out of the oven, or reserved to make whitefish-like salads the next day with a little creme fresh, cream cheese, cracked black pepper, fresh dill, grated onion and a pinch of salt. Keep the fish on for a extra flavorful pan drippings, or remove it as I did for fish head soup (way more tasty than it sounds, promise!)

1 whole mackerel, fresh or defrosted if frozen at sea

4 key limes

4 scallion stalks

10 pearl onions

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup water (or fish broth if you have it, you can add a few dashes of Thai fish sauce to the water in a pinch)

3 TB honey

pinch of salt

Set oven to 325 degrees. Clean scallions, remove outer skins of pearl onions, quarter the limes. Squeeze four quarters (directly into baking dish, strained) and leave the other limes intact as wedges. Place them into a Pyrex baking dish, long enough so that the mackerel can fit flat ( can be on a diagonal), and add pressed garlic and all three liquids. Stir together to incorporate.

Clean the fish, removing the innards if this has not already been done. Be gentle with the skin - it is delicious to eat and beautiful on the plate. Place in the baking dish and salt on both sides (I use flaky kosher salt, which sticks nicely without rubbing the silver skin). Stuff the main cavity with as many limes, onions, and scallions as will fit. An extra little blob of honey won't hurt either. Cover with foil and bake for one hour and 15 minutes. The low heat and long cooking time is not traditional, but it really allows the fish flesh to absorb flavor and the final texture is really divine, again, perfect for those whitefish-esque salads I mentioned earlier. Play around with the heat and cooking time for your liking and your oven's personality. If you are short on time, jack the oven up to 400 and cook for half an hour instead. Enjoy!