Dinner for one: delicious posh potatoes

Take one baked potato, add mackerel, beetroot, and fresh horseradish cream and voilà – instant supper.

Whilst horseradish may be the traditional accompaniment to roast beef, it is also really delicious with smoked fish, particularly mackerel, as the sharpness of the sauce cuts through the oiliness of the fish. The fish is topped with thin strips of beetroot, but if you prefer, you can top with beetroot cubes instead if this is easier, or replace with some green salad leaves.

Mackerel, Beetroot & Horseradish

Serves 1

Ingredients
1 large baking potato
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 fresh mackerel fillets (depending on the size and how hungry you are)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the horseradish cream
1 tbsp horseradish cream
2 tbsp crème fraîche

To serve
butter for the potato (optional)
handful of peashoots
beetroot strips
1 tbsp chopped roasted hazelnuts
lemon wedges

Method
Cook the potatoes. To oven bake, preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Prick the skin of your potato and run with a little salt. Place in the oven for about 1 hour, depending on the size of your potato.

For the horseradish cream, stir the horseradish into the crème fraîche and season with salt and pepper. Store, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Heat a frying pan and add the oil. Season the mackerel fillets and add to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until the flesh is lightly golden brown. Once cooked, remove from the pan. Although you can eat the skin of the fish, if you prefer, you can remove it now, peeling it away from the fish.

When you are ready to serve, cut the potato open and top with some butter, if using. Add the mackerel fillets and the horseradish cream. Top with the pea shoots, beetroot and roasted hazelnuts and season with salt and pepper. Serve straight away with lemon wedges to squeeze over the fish.

Extracted from Piled-High Potatoes by Hannah Miles (Ryland Peters & Small, €13.99). Photography by Steve Painter © Ryland Peters & Small.