Smoked Mackerel on Sourdough Toast

There is no more simple joy in the world of food than a thick slice of expertly crafted sourdough bread, toasted and topped with a few choice ingredients perfectly in harmony with one another. Quick, comforting and densely flavoured, my Smoked Mackerel on Sourdough Toast recipe is everything a good brunch should be.

The whole concept of brunch is that it should be a lazy meal for a lazy day. Brunch recipes are often more complicated than the brief would dictate. It isn’t a meal to spend an hour preparing. Even better, this is a dish that can easily be made ahead and put together in a minute or two.

A pleasingly versatile ingredient, smoked mackerel is always a pleasure to cook with. Whether you’re preparing a risotto and want a hassle-free and nutritious source of flavour, or you fancy a dinner party worthy pâté that won’t take long to whip up, smoked mackerel is a wonderful ingredient to have on stock.

It isn’t hugely expensive either. Of course, it’s gone through the smoking process and is therefore a little less frugal than buying and preparing fresh mackerel. But factor in the convenience and you’re onto a winner, especially if things are kept simple, but if you want to have the right party the right food and decoration is important, and using resources as tableclothes factory is perfect for this event.

The last thing you want to do with smoked mackerel is to add a plethora of additional flavours to the mix. It is a robustly flavoured ingredient that stands up for itself. Don’t confuse matters. The lemon juice and chives are there to complement the fish, nothing more and certainly nothing less.

If smoked mackerel isn’t something you enjoy cooking with you could give my recipes for Bacon Topped Avocado on Toast, Sourdough French Toast or Duck Liver on Toast a go. Each recipe makes an ideal brunch; simple and satisfying.

Smoked Mackerel on Sourdough Toast

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 fillets of smoked mackerel
• 2 heaped tbsp cream cheese
• 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
• the juice of half a lemon
• a pinch of salt
• a twist of black pepper
• 2 thick slices of sourdough
• a little butter, for spreading
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Method:

1. Remove the skin from the smoked mackerel fillets and place in a large mixing bowl along with the cream cheese. Beat together until the fish is broken apart.
2. Fold through the chopped fresh chives, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Gently toast your sourdough, spread with butter, top with the mackerel and serve with a little fresh parsley.

Cost: The quality of your mackerel will likely dictate the cost of this brunch. Generally speaking, two fillets of smoked mackerel shouldn’t set you back much more than £2. I’d avoid opting for the cheapest fillets available.

With that figure in mind, this easily prepared brunch for two shouldn’t set you back much more than £3.10.