Smoked Mackerel Pate

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I'm a huge fan of Felicity Cloake regular column in the Guardian. 'How to cook the perfect...." I've used several of her recipes and they've all worked out very well. She cooks and reviews several chefs recipes for well known dishes. Then she creates her own 'perfect' recipe based on her results. I can only imagine what her home life is like "Hi family, this week we're eating only salad nicoise" in her attempt to test a range of different recipes and create her own.

I made this great smoked mackerel pate over the weekend. I'm in the process of a long move - so my kitchen things are in storage. I think the pate works quite well in these nice tea cups I got in the second hand shop!

Her recipe is over here. 
I followed it pretty closely - except I didn't use a blender as I prefer a coarser pate. The horseradish and dill off set the oily fish beautifully. A great dish that comes together very quickly. A great starter for a dinner party you can prepare the night before. Serve with homemade brown bread.

Cauliflower & Bacon Fritters

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Easy Weekday dinner

Ingredients

Makes lots for 2 - enough as side for 4

1/2 head of cauliflower steamed or boiled

1 large free range egg

3 rashers of bacon grilled until crispy

2 tablespoons of plain yogurt (cause I didn't have enough milk)

a dash of milk

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 clove of garlic crushed

1 heaped table spoon of gram flour / or regular flour

mustard seeds

salt and pepper

Method

1. Once your cauliflower is cool mash it with a fork or masher
2. Cut your bacon into small pieces
3. Mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl
4. Heat a frying pan with some oil over medium to high heat
5. When it's nice and hot spoon in one tablespoon of mixture per patty
6. Cook one one side for 2-3 mins or until nicely golden
7. Flip carefully over
8. Press down with the spatula to firm up the fritter
9. Remove from pan and place on kitchen towel
10. Repeat with rest of mixture

I served these along side some salad and homemade baked beans

Summer Swedish Balcony Salad

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This morning it was raining - tipping it down. A soggy July, hot on the heels of one of the wettest Junes on record! Then this afternoon the clouds parted and out came the sun. After work I headed to the park to take it in. On getting home I knocked up this quick, Swedish inspired salad with the fridge contents, and some fresh pickings from the balcony. The oak leaf lettuce, dill, parsley, and sprouts - are all the fruits of my semi attentive labour

Ingredients

Oak leaf Lettuce

Dill - finely chopped

Parsley - finely chopped

1/3 cucumber - seeded and diced

2 beetroots - diced

1 spring onion - thinly sliced

some fennel seeds

Some crumbled feta

Poppy seeds

a squeeze of lemon juice

a dollop of good olive oil

a drizzle of honey

To Serve - a hard boiled egg and some sprouted mung beans

Method

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil and honey in a small dish until blended. Put the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl, drizzle over the dressing and toss. Top with sprout and boiled egg on the side. Hardly a recipe to change the world, but I had to start back somewhere.