Smoked mackerel spread with pickled cucumber

Name: Smoked mackerel spread with pickled cucumber
Yield: Serves 6-8
Ingredients: ground black pepper; 4 smoked mackerel fillets (not the peppered ones in this case, although they would work), skin removed; 1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthways, deseeded with a teaspoon and cut into 5mm slices; 1½ teaspoons flaked sea salt; 100 g fridge-cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes; 1 Earl Grey tea bag; a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice; 3 spring onions, finely sliced at an angle; hot buttered toast, to serve; 20 g white sugar; 100 ml white wine vinegar; 1½ heaped teaspoons good horseradish sauce (optional); 4 tablespoons crème fraîche; 2 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard

Preparation info

Serves
6-8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

What to Eat Next

By Valentine Warner

Published 2014

About

It’s not potted, it’s not pàté, so spread was my last option, as whip didn’t sound great. Hot buttered toast, white wine and lounging kitchen chat are great accompaniments for my smoked mackerel spread.

Ingredients

4 smoked mackerel fillets (not the peppered ones in this case, although they would work), skin removed
100 g fridge-cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Preserve
Starter
Fish course
Pescatarian

Method

To make the pickled cucumber, mix the cucumber slices with the sea salt and leave to drain in a colander for 30 minutes, tumbling regularly.
In the meantime, in a small saucepan over a gentle heat, warm the vinegar with the sugar and, when the sugar has dissolved, drop in the tea bag. Leave it there for only 20 seconds or so, as you want to taste it but not too