Salad of smoked mackerel and potatoes

Scrub 4 small, waxy potatoes and boil 2 mm slices in deep, salted water. Simmer for 7 minutes or so, until tender to the point of a knife. 

Remove the skin from a whole smoked mackerel and ease the flesh from the bones.

Make a dressing by putting 1/2 tbsp each of red wine vinegar and olive oil in a mixing bowl, then stir in 1 tsp of smooth Dijon mustard, 30ml of crème fraîche, 30ml of natural yogurt and 1 tbsp of mayo Season with salt and pepper.

Slice 8 cornichons and drain 2 tsp of capers.

Finely chop 2 spring onions, 4 sprigs of dill and pick some parsley leaves. Drain the potatoes, add to the dressing, tossing them gently so they are evenly covered.

Peel, seed and slice 1 small cucumber. Wash 2 large handfuls of crisp, cos-type lettuce leaves, cut them into manageable pieces.

Start plating with 3 spoonfuls of the dressing. Then the salad leaves. Place the potatoes and chunks of mackerel, finish with the herbs, cornichons and capers 

Handle the smoked mackerel gently, so the pieces stay fat and juicy and aren’t crushed when tossed with the potatoes. If you can find it, use whole smoked mackerel rather than fillets. The whole fish has softer, more creamy flesh.

Use other smoked fish in place of the mackerel, such as smoked trout. Air-dried meats are good here, too, especially thinly sliced salami. Pastrami is another possible addition to a potato salad.

(Here is Nigel Slater's original recipe)

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Traybake, roast sausage, chickpea and autumn vegetables

Not the best looking plate on this blog, but certainly one of the best tasting recipes. Even without sausage!

Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Put 4 sausages, cut into 2,5 cm slices, 225 g cherry tomatoes, 250 g chickpeas, 280 g diced carrots  in a large bowl, drizzle over 15 ml olive oil, then add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika and black pepper and toss to coat.

Spread out the mixture in an even layer on an oven tray or roasting pan. Add 60ml water and roast for 45 minutes, until the sausages start to brown, the carrots are tender and the other vegetables are golden brown. Rotate the pan once halfway through the cooking, so everything roasts evenly. 

After 35 mins spread 100g cavalo nero on a second tray (midribs removed, lightly oiled and sprinkled with sea salt) and put in the same oven. That way they become nice and crispy in the last 10 mins, adding another dimension to the dish).

Remove from the oven and leave to rest for five minutes.

Sprinkle 15g toasted pumpkin seeds on top, add lemon juice and zest, and fresh dill, and serve.

(Here the original recipe -and 2 more- from the Guardian)

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Tomato and courgette loaf with tomato chutney

This is somewhere between a veggie loaf and a bread, as perfect for brunch as it is for afternoon tea. The chutney is pretty special, so make more of it than you need here, and keep in a jar in the fridge, where it will last for at least a week: it’s particularly delicious paired with sharp cheese or all sorts of eggs.

For the tomato chutney
4 tbsp olive oil
6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
45g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 red chillies (30g), finely chopped, seeds and all
1½ tbsp tomato paste
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
1½ tbsp caster sugar
750g tomatoes, cored and finely chopped
Salt and black pepper

Make the chutney first. Put four tablespoons oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat and, once hot, add the garlic, ginger and chilli, and cook, stirring occasionally, for two minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomato paste, spices and sugar, cook, stirring, for a minute more, then add the chopped tomatoes, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat to medium and leave to cook, stirring regularly, for 45 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down and the mixture is nice and thick. Spoon 150g of the chutney mix into a bowl, and leave both the chutney in the bowl and the pan to cool.

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Line a standard (1kg) loaf tin with a piece of greaseproof paper large enough to cover the bottom and sides.

2 courgettes (350g), roughly grated
275g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp caster sugar
2 large eggs
60ml olive oil
70g Greek-style yoghurt
150g mature cheddar, roughly grated
6-7 tbsp (25g) roughly chopped coriander
75g mixed (red and yellow) cherry tomatoes, halved

Put the grated courgettes and half a teaspoon of salt in a bowl, mix to combine, then leave to steep for 20 minutes. Tip the courgettes on to a clean tea towel and wring out as much liquid as possible – you should be left with about 180g of strained courgette – and set aside.

Put the flour, baking powder, bicarb, garam masala, sugar and a teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and mix to combine.

In a second bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and yoghurt, then stir in the cheddar and coriander. Put this, the strained courgette and the reserved 150g tomato chutney in the flour bowl and mix gently to combine. Transfer to the lined loaf tin and smooth out the top. Arrange the halved cherry tomatoes cut side up on top, gently pushing them into the dough without fully submerging them.

Drizzle with the final tablespoon of oil, bake for 40 minutes, then remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 190C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5. Cover the loaf with foil, then return to the oven and bake for 45 minutes more, or until a skewer comes out clean from the centre. Leave to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes, or longer, if time allows. 

Cut the loaf into 2½cm slices. Spoon the chutney into a bowl, stir in the remaining tablespoon of oil and serve alongside the bread. 

(Here Ottolenghi's  original recipe in the Guardian)

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Nigel Slater’s recipe for spinach, fennel and parmesan

Wash 150g of fresh, vibrant spinach leaves. While they are still wet, put them in a deep saucepan with a lid. Place them over a moderate heat and let them cook in their own steam for 2 minutes. Have a large bowl of iced water ready. Remove the lid, turn the spinach leaves over with kitchen tongs, then let them wilt for a further minute. When they are bright green and soft, drain in a colander and immediately lower into the bowl of iced water. This will arrest their cooking and brighten their colour.

Half-fill the pan with water, put it back on the heat and bring it to the boil. Top and tail 150g of yellow or green beans and drop them into the boiling water. Let them cook for a couple of minutes then drain and set them aside.

Warm a griddle pan. Slice a head of fennel into pieces slightly thicker than a pound coin, then brush them with a little olive oil. Cook the fennel on the grill for 5-10 minutes, until it softens.

Pour 3 tbsp of your favourite olive oil into a large mixing bowl. Gently squeeze the spinach leaves to remove any water, but try not to crush them. Turn the leaves gently in the olive oil and season them with a little salt and pepper. Add the beans and the grilled fennel to the spinach then grate in the zest of half a lemon. Add a little lemon juice to taste.

Scatter a generous handful of grated parmesan over the salad and turn gently with your hands so that everything is coated with oil, seasoning and cheese. Transfer to plates, grate over a little more parmesan and serve. Enough for 2.

The trick

Folding the cooked spinach leaves in the olive oil gives them a pleasing silky texture. The leaves should be very lightly steamed for barely a minute or two, before their cooking is arrested by plunging them into a mixture of water and ice cubes. As you drain them, you should squeeze the water from them gently, so they don’t end up looking like frozen spinach.

The twist

The simple olive oil and lemon dressing is enriched with grated parmesan. You could forgo the cheese and include a few anchovy fillets or perhaps a thinly sliced salami (the fennel-seed variety, finocchiona, would be quite perfect). 

(Here Nigel's original recipe)

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Tartare of smoked salmon and shrimps

Pre heat the oven at 200°c

Finely slice 1/2 shallot and 4 sprigs of chives

tear 100 g smoked salmon and put in the blender with 60 g of grey shrimps, add 1 tbsp yoghurt and 1/2 tbsp mayo and blend into a smooth paste.

Mix in the shallot and the chives.

Or serve as a starter, with crispy aubergine chips:

Finely slice the top of an aubergine. Brush the slices with coconut oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Bake in the oven for about 10 mins till nice and crisp.

Serve as shown with some more shrimps on top.

(Here Laura van den Broeck's original recipe in Dutch)

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Millefeuille with sardines, aubergine caviar and onion compôte

Preheat the oven to 200°C

Use a fork to pierce a small aubergine all over, lightly oil the surface and sprinkle sea salt over it before baking in the oven for 30 mins.

In the meantime slice an onion finely, sweat in olive oil after adding 1 tbsp sugar to caramelise.

Marinate 6 filets of sardines in 2 tbsp olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lime, season with pepper and salt.

Take out the aubergine and lower the temperature of the oven to 180°

Slice 1/4 green paprika into julienne, sprinkle with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp thyme leaves, pepper and salt. Add 1 clove of garlic and put in the oven for 10 mins

Scoop out the flesh of the aubergine and use the blender to mix with 1/2 tbsp balsamico vinegar, 1/2 tbsp honey and 1 tbsp olive oil to make the caviar.

Turn up the heat under the onions, add 1/2 tbsp sugar and a bit of salt and keep stirring to caramelise the onions for a couple of minutes.

Use a serving ring to cut out 2 rounds of puff pastry, brush with egg yolk and bake in the oven for 7 mins. Take them out and use some folded kitchen paper to flatten them before baking them for another 7 mins.

Take them out and cover with the aubergine caviar. Then add onion compôte, the the sardines and finally the green paprika.

Put back in the oven for 3 minutes.

Serve as shown with basil oil.

(Here Julie Baekelandt's original recipe in Dutch)

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Salmon, fennel salad

Mix a finely sliced shallot with 200 ml white wine and 50 ml white wine vinegar. Bring to the boil and reduce to 2/3

Pre heat the oven to 260°C

Remove the rind and pith of an orange then take out the segments by carefully cutting along the membranes (pelé a vif). Add the escaping juice to the wine sauce.

Then whisk 50 g small cubes of cold butter to finish the sauce.

Use a mandolin to shave a fennel bulb very thinly. Mix the fennel with 3 tbsp chopped basil leaves, a glug of olive oil and season with pepper and salt.

Cut 200 g filet of salmon into thin slices.

Halve a burrata and put the cheese on 2 plates, cover with the salmon slices and put the plates in the hot oven for 2 mins.

Take them out again, season the salmon with pepper and salt

Put the fennel salad and orange segments on top, finish with the sauce (which I forgot and did when the photo was made :))

(Here the original recipe from Bart Desmidt in Dutch)

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Vegetarian 'steak' tartare from watermelon radishes

I'd never seen them: watermelon radishes*, so had to read them up.

One website mentioned that chef François Geurds from restaurant Ivy FG cuts them in small cubes to make a 'steak' tartare for vegetarians. But no recipe was mentioned.

So as an experiment I cooked 3 of them for 20 minutes, peeled them and sliced them in small cubes.

Then added:

1/2 tbsp shallot, finely chopped, 1/2 tbsp capers, 1/2 tbsp gherkins, finely chopped, 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley, 1/2 tbsp Dyon mustard, 1 tbsp ketchup, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp Tabasco and 1 tsp   Worcestershire sauce

After tasting I added a bit of  salt and pepper. Used a serving ring to plate and finished with egg yolks (from very fresh eggs)

(For a vegan version replace the egg by mixing 1 tbsp mayonaise with 1 tsp curcuma and 1/2 tsp yellow curry powder. Then use 2 spoons to imitate the yolk)

* Also known as Chinese radish, watermelon radish, watermelon daikon, Asian red meat radish, beauty heart radish, roseheart radish, misato rose radish, Raphanus sativus L.

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