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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