Curried Smoked Mackeral Pilaf

Almost, but not quite, kedgeree. It is a little easier (no poaching uncooked fish first), and a little less nursery-food-gentle, with mustard seeds and a little more spice. I made this a lot in my first year at university, and have revisited more recently. I am not sure why I stopped making it in the first place, since starting again I have been having it almost once a week because I like it so much.

1 big knob of butter

1-2 white onions

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

1 bay leaf

Pinch turmeric

1 tbsp (more or less, to taste) curry powder (I used hot, but mild or medium can be used)

300g basmati rice

1 pack smoked mackerel fillets

300ml  water

300ml milk

3 eggs

Small bunch flat leaf parsley

Half a lemon

A little extra butter, if desired. 

Peel and slice the onion(s). Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan that has a well-fitting lid. Add the onions, and cook over a low heat until softened and slightly golden- about 10 minutes. Meanwhile boil your eggs- I tend to give them  8 minutes, which results in a still oily yolk, but boil for up to 10 minutes if you prefer them firmer. However you cook them, make sure you cover them in cold water straight away after they have finished boiling, so they don’t keep on cooking.

While the onion and eggs are cooking, remove the skin from the mackerel, and flake into medium sized pieces.

Add the mustard seeds to the pan, and cook for about 30 seconds, then stir in the curry powder, rice and bay leaf. Stir to coat the rice in the spices, and then add the mackerel, stirring to combine again. Pour in the water and milk, season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat up to bring the liquid to a boil, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting, place the lid on, and leave to cook for 15 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, peel and roughly chop the eggs, and remove the stalks from the parsley and chop the leaves.  When the rice has finished cooking, add a few pieces of butter (if desired), and  squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan, and use and fork to fluff up the rice and mix in the butter and juice. Taste for seasoning, and adjust if necessary. Fork through the parsley and the eggs, and serve.

Warm smoked mackerel, lentil and roast tomato salad

250g green lentils
3 fillets smoked mackerel
about 200g cherry tomatoes
one small/ half a large red onion, peeled, or a bunch of spring onions
bunch flatleaf parsley
2 small sticks celery
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Zest of 1 lemon
Leaves from a few springs of thyme.
Wholegrain mustard
clove garlic
2 big handfuls  of rocket, watercress or other salad leaves

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, and add the lentils. Don't salt the water, as it will make the lentils harden. Cook until the lentils are tender, which will vary in time depending on how old they are- I'd allow at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 190 degrees. Halve the tomatoes and put in an oven proof dish. Lightly coat with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for about 15-20 minutes. Set aside in the pan. Any juices left from roasting the tomatoes will be added to the dressing, so don't be too enthusiastic with clearing up just yet.

Finely chop the red onion or spring onion, and set aside. Slice the celery finely too, and put with the onion. Destalk the parsley, and roughly chop the leaves. Skin the mackerel fillets, and flake into medium sized pieces.

Once the lentils are cooked, drain and let them cool for a few minutes. Slice the garlic clove in half, and crush lightly with the flat side of a knife. Rub the cut side of the clove around the serving dish. This will give the final dish a slight scent of garlic, without being overwhelming. Put the lentils into the serving dish and add  the tomatoes, with any juices from the roasting tray to the serving dish too.Dress the lentils with some olive oil, and just enough red wine vinegar to give them a twang. Add some wholegrain mustard, to your taste. Start with a heaped teaspoon and increase from there. Finely chop the thyme leaves, and add to the lentils along with the lemon zest.Stir through the mackerel, onion and celery. Add the salad leaves and parsley, using a fork to gently mix it in. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Serves 4

Simon Hopkinson's Kipper Pâté

This recipe is from Simon Hopkinson's book Week In, Week Out. Although I have read this book, usually curled up with a cup of something comforting, many times, I haven't made that many recipes from it- something to do with having too many cookery books and only three meals in a day.


The kipper pâté is possibly the easiest recipe in the book, but it is really delicious. I don't usually do starters, but if I did I think this would be a good one to serve.

You take two pack of vacuum pack of kippers, the sort with a flower shaped pat of butter included. Boil them for half the amount of time recommended, for the packs I had this amounted to 7-8 minutes. Leave them to cool, and then open the packets and slide the contents on a plate or tray with a lip, so the buttery liquid doesn't spill. Scrape off the skin and remove the central bone, and put all the fishy flesh into the bowl of a food processor.
Over the bowl of the processor, put a sieve, and tip the fish detritus and butter into the sieve. With the back of a spoon or similar, press down on the mixture to force as much flavour as possible out.  Pulse to break up the kipper, then add 150g melted butter, 125g cream cheese, the juice of one lemon, and a dash of Tabasco.  Now process until very smooth. Spoon the pâté into ramekins, smoothing the surface over with the back of a spoon. Melt some more butter, and pour over to seal. Place in the fridge for at least two hours. Serve with hot toast, or warm baguette.