Miles Collins

A retro smoked mackerel dish with Soviet overtones

I’ve banged on a bit about retro food and thought I’d best give you a dish to highlight (or lowlight-you’ll be the judge) the qualities of dishes and ingredients which have gradually fallen out of favour.

Mackerel is a favourite of mine, it’s a cheap fish with flavour. It can take a punch from big hitters such as chilli, vinegar, red wine, onions, gooseberries and mustard and still bounce back. Mackerel is a fish for all continents; Central and South-East Asia, Europe, the Indian Sub-Continent and the Americas-they all have dishes suited to this remarkable fish.

I like to smoke my own mackerel, I smoke it over tea leaves and find it more subtle. There is nothing wrong with shop bought although it will taste stronger. I started thinking about mackerel and what it goes with and that is always beetroot, cooked or pickled. I then took the idea of beetroot and thought about Russian food and from there a modern take on the classic Russian salad.

Nobody does Russian salad anymore, we’ve moved on (apparently) I diced a couple of carrots and cooked them with a bay leaf until just cooked and then blanched a few fine beans, the last of the peas and broad beans, added some small capers and chopped gherkins for a bit of interest and bound the lot with creme fraiche and chervil. A squeeze of lemon, a pinch of salt and white pepper and Bernard’s your uncle.

I roasted some fresh beetroots, peeled them and pureed them in a food mixer until finely chopped. A splash of red wine vinegar, some s&p and that was that. Easy.

Smoked Mackerel is the star of the show and should remain so. I peeled the skin off and tore the flesh away in large pieces, I don’t want to lose the taste and appearance of the fish. I gave the fish a drop of lemon juice, a little cayenne, some chopped parsley, s&p and a spoon of creme fraiche (no more or you lose the taste of the mackerel. 

You can pile all of this on a slab of toast for a perfectly good supper. For a quick version buy a bag/jar of mixed cooked vegetables and a pack of ready cooked beetroot. Substitute the creme fraiche for mayonnaise and away you go. I cut all of my vegetables into nice shapes and blanch them seperately because it’s what I get paid to do. If you’re hungry and in a hurry then take the short cut, you’re still getting the fish and the vegetables and that’s the main thing.