Crispy Mackerel with Punchy Beetroot Dip & Potato Salad

Serves 2 / Preparation 10 minutes / Cooking 20 minutes

Liven up the humble vac pac beetroot with some fiery horseradish to create a chunky beetroot dip that’s sweet and earthy flavour pairs well with oily fish like mackerel. Serve with a side of lightly dressed herby potato salad and some crisp salad leaves.

Ingredients

For the beetroot

  • 1 pack of vac pac beetroot
  • 3 spring onions
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 2 tsp horseradish sauce
  • 2 tbsp crème fraiche or Greek yogurt

For the potato salad

  • 400g new potatoes halved or quartered if large
  • Juice & zest of ½ lemon
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp crème fraiche or Greek yogurt
  • Large handful of fresh herbs such as chives, parsley or dill
  • Salt & pepper to taste

For the mackerel

  • 2 mackerel fillets
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil for frying
  • Salt & pepper

Method

  1. To make the beetroot dip. Roughly chop the beetroot and spring onions and add to a blender with the horseradish, crème fraiche and lemon juice. Blitz just enough to retain a chunky texture. If you don’t have a blender, you can can still create a chunky dip by roughly mashing the beetroot with a fork and finely slicing the spring onion.
  2. To make the potato salad, place the potatoes in salted boiling water and cook for 12-15 minutes or until soft. Drain the potatoes and dress with the lemon, olive oil, crème fraiche and herbs and season well.
  3. To cook the fish, brush the flesh of the mackerel with Dijon mustard and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the fillets skin-side down, pressing down evenly for 30 seconds to ensure an even colour. Leave to cook on this side for 2-3 minutes, then flip the fillets over and remove the pan from the heat. The fish will finish cooking in the pan whilst you plate up the beetroot, potatoes and salad leaves.

Any leftover beetroot dip will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days and makes a colorful filling for a jacket potato or a delicious dip for crudité.

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