Smoked

I am a sucker for all things smoked. Over just the past few months, I've devoured smoked salmon (cold-smoked and hot-smoked), smoked trout, smoked scallops, smoked oysters, smoked chicken, smoked duck, smoked turkey, and smoked chiles (chipotles). My goodness! It's a wonder my gullet isn't ashen by now. But my favorite of all these delicious comestibles is smoked mackerel. Its dank, buttery flesh deserves widspread recognition, but I've never seen it on a menu anywhere. A strange state of affairs, methinks: deplorable, even. Thus, I offer you this homely but delicious smoked mackerel salad. Wrapped up in sprightly young butter lettuce leaves, it makes a perfect light lunch or snack.

Smoked Mackerel Salad

Ingredients:

6oz smoked mackerel, de-skinned and flaked
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp chardonnay vinegar
1 tbsp capers
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 scallion, finely chopped
1 tbsp dill, snipped

Butter lettuce leaves, for serving

Method:

Mix all the salad ingredients together, and then deposit small clumps of the resulting mixture on the lettuce leaves.

Serves 2 as a light lunch.

P.S. This salad also makes a tasty sandwich filling, preferably on dark rye.