“I sometimes dream about this dish when I’m doing something completely random. Served with a slice of toasted sourdough it doesn’t get any better for me. Have a go at smoking your own too. Soak the fillets in cold, salted water (salt to water ratio of 10%) for half an hour, remove and leave overnight to dry in the fridge. Gently hot smoke the following day over oak chips in a bbq, or between two old pans that fit together, using a cooling wire in-between to lay the fish on, skin side down. Once cooled, serve with anything summery.”
Prep time: 30 minutes; cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
1 large fillet of smoked mackerel, skin off and central pin bones carefully removed, use tweezers or a small knife to do this.
A big handful of fresh watercress, washed
4 to 6 smallish new potatoes
3 or 4 radishes, washed and halved
2 tablespoons creamed horseradish, or fresh if you can get it
Good salt and pepper
A tablespoon of cold-pressed rapeseed oil
A squeeze of lemon juice
METHOD
Remove the mackerel from the fridge just before you start boiling the tatties, as room temperature smoked fish has a fuller flavour.
Boil the potatoes in their skins for 40 to 45 minutes in salted water. Leave to cool slightly, then cut each spud into 3 or 4 slices. Put them in a bowl big enough to mix all the ingredients, they should still be warm.
Add the watercress and flake in the mackerel in smallish pieces, then add the lemon juice and a good dollop of the horseradish, as much as you like, but remember it can be quite sharp. Season with salt and pepper and a trickle of rapeseed oil and give it a good mix; but gently, don’t over mix it as it’ll all go to mush.
Divide the salad between 2 plates and garnish with some radishes for crunch and dot around a few drops of rapeseed oil. Finish with a grating of fresh horseradish if you like. Eat at once.