We saw Nigel Slater do something interesting [fnaar] with a smoked mackerel on a programme just before Christmas, and on our seasonal visit to Newland Avenue, we picked up a brace of them in the fishmonger (yay! fishmonger!) to use over the holiday.

When we fetched them out of the fridge, they were bloody enormous, far bigger than the vacuum packed ones you pick up in the supermarket, so I have two smoked mackerel recipes for your delectation. [Edit] In neither recipe did we use the skin.

Smoked mackerel on toast
Now, this might not sound very exciting, but trust me. We flaked up one of the fish, and mixed it with a finely chopped shallot, some cream, and quite a lot of grated parmesan. Nigel said to add fresh horseradish, but Newland Ave in Hull doesn’t run to that, so we added a pinch of cayenne instead. We toasted some thick slices of bread on one side (my word – we turned the grill on!), then piled the fish mixture on top of the untoasted side and put it back under the grill.  It was gorgeous, and remarkably filling.

Smoked mackerel omelette
So we were faced with Another Huge Smoked Mackerel, and we had quite a lot of eggs. So – an omelette. Again, the fish was flaked, and bunged it into the pan when the eggs were starting to set, on half the area, so that it could be folded and flipped. Again, just lovely.

We liked both these so much that a pack of smoked mackerel is now a staple in our fridge.