Smoked mackerel pilau

 

Another - what's in the fridge/cupboard? dinner.  

This was really tasty, really easy to make and really economical.

I happened to have fennel, golden beetroot, courgette and spinach - but you could equally well use celery, carrot, mushrooms, frozen peas etc etc

Olive oil

Spring onions

Garlic

curry spices (whatever you have got)

Fennel

Golden beetroot

Courgette

Basmati rice

Spinach

Smoked mackerel 

1.  Chop and gently fry onion in olive oil, add crushed garlic.

2.  Chop other firm vegetables - fennel, golden beetroot, courgette - and fry gently until nearly soft, for about 15 minutes, add curry powder and cook for another minute.

3.  Add basmati rice, turn over a few times until everything is coated.

4.  Add water/stock to cover the rice with a generous layer of liquid - at least 1 cm above the level of the rice.

5.  Turn heat up and bring to the boil.  As soon as it boils slam on the lid and turn the heat down to the minimum possible.

6.  Leave to sit - do not stir - for 10 minutes.

7.  Add generous handfuls of spinach and the flaked mackerel over the rice - slam lid back on, and leave for another 5ish minutes, for spinach to wilt and fish to heat through.

8.  Stir through, serve, scoff.

Smoked mackerel, courgette and green bean pasta

Cheap, quick and healthy - can't beat it.  All ingredients (except frozen peas) available at Tod market.  Mackerel from Paul outside, veg from Kev outside and everything else from The Mediterranean Pantry inside.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Courgette
Italian seasoning
Green beans
Frozen peas
Pasta (GF, or otherwise)
Smoked mackerel

1.  Gently fry chopped onion in olive oil until soft, then add courgette and garlic and continue to cook until courgette is soft, stirring occasionally.
2.  Cut green beans into bite sized pieces and place in a steamer pan.
3.  Boil the kettle, pour boiling water into a pan, bring back to the boil and add pasta and a pinch of salt.
4.  Steam the beans over the pasta, after 5 minutes add frozen peas.
5.  Break the mackerel into bite sized flakes, discarding the skin.
6.  When the pasta is done, drain and then throw in all the other ingredients and stir.
7.  Serve, scoff

Under 20 minutes and under £1 per portion.

Smoked mackerel and a medley of salads

A sunny day in Todmorden - miracles never cease!  So, a medly of salads for tea tonight.  There is no real recipe for this - boil the pasta, chop vegetables, open a tin and flake smoked mackerel - remember to squeeze lemon onto the avocado, or it will go brown.  I added garlic mayonnaise to my celery, apple and almond salad, but it's not universally liked, so I left it off the main serving.

Tomato and avocado salad

Cherry tomatoes
Finely chopped red onion
Radish
Avocado
Squeeze of lemon juice

Celery and apple salad

Celery
Apple
Almonds
Garlic mayonnaise (optional)

Pasta and mackerel salad

Pasta (random odds and ends of GF today)
Chopped red onion
Sweetcorn
Smoked mackerel

Green leaves
Olive oil
Sherry vinegar

Mackerel with colcannon

Paul the fish had some lovely mackerel, and it is very cold ... we needed mash.  Supercharged it with cabbage to get some veg into the veg dodger.  Delicious.

Potatoes
Cabbage
Tomatoes
Olive oil
Butter
Mackerel
Garlic
Lemon

1.  Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil, sprinkle on salt and roast in the oven.
2.  Boil potatoes, steam shredded cabbage above them.
3.  When the potatoes are done mash them, add butter to taste and stir in the cabbage.
4.  Marinade the fish briefly in olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic.  Fry on each side for a couple of minutes.
5.  Serve, scoff

Mackerel, with warm potato salad and a saffron vinaigrette

Beautiful mackerel, jersey royals and a fresh crisp cos lettuce.  Magic.  Added an extremely tasty warm vinaigrette with saffron and fresh herbs.  The second best mackerel I have ever had - the best being mackerel I had caught myself and barbequed on the beach!

All of this gorgeous produce available on Todmorden market (except the wine).




Jersey Royal potatoes
White wine
Saffron
Sherry vinegar
Oregano
Chives
Wholegrain mustard
Olive oil
Black pepper
Lettuce

1.  Scrub the potatoes, and boil until done.
2.  Soak the saffron in white wine, heat gently in a small saucepan.
3.  Add a splash of sherry vinegar and a splash of water, reduce briefly.
4.  Take off the heat and whisk in herbs, mustard and oil.
5.  When the potatoes are nearly done pan fry, or grill, the mackerel - whichever needs to be hot - for a couple of minutes each side.
6.  Lightly crush the potatoes and stir in a couple of tablespoons of the vinaigrette.  Do this while the potatoes are still warm, as they will suck up more of the flavours.  The potatoes can be eaten hot, warm or cold.
7.  Serve the fish drizzled with the vinaigrette, which can also be used to dress the salad leaves.

It was FABULOUS.

Grilled mackerel, beetroot in horseradish and leftover root veg bake

The only part of this which is a "recipe" is the beetroot in horseradish.  The root veg are yesterdays leftovers heated through, and the mackerel is grilled on a hot grill - skin side first, with a little olive oil on the fish.  My grill was not hot enough - it needs to get really hot.  I also braised some celery - in the oven, with olive oil and white wine - covered with foil.


Beetroot
olive oil
garlic
natural yogurt
horseradish

1.  Put beetroot, washed and whole in a baking tray, add splosh of olive oil and a small handful of garlic cloves.
2.  Cover with foil and roast for an hour or so.
3.  Peel and chop the roast beetroot, squeeze on the roast garlic, leave to cool slightly.
4.  Mix together 3 spoons of natural yogurt and 1 spoon of horseradish.  Stir into the slightly cooled beetroot.