This smoked mackerel bake is designed around one of my favourite ingredients. We even eat smoked mackerel on Christmas day in the form of a pate, mixed with cream cheese. It’s got a lovely fishy taste, and comes ready to eat. It’s just perfect for salads and sandwiches, but also makes the perfect low hassle dinner.
Fat Free White Sauce
There really is no need for a packet sauce with this recipe. The sauce naturally thickens while it’s in the oven – and the joy of a smoked mackerel bake is that the smokey flavour of the fish provides all the seasoning you need. My local supermarket often stocks smoked mackerel topped with peppercorns or chili flakes for added flavour- you could try these for a bit of extra zing. Alternatively, a sprinkling of ground pepper or crushed chillis mixed into the milk would have a similar effect. I suppose you could even alter it by adding cheese.
I haven’t done a fat free sauce to save on fat – simply because it saves on fat. The cooking time is enough to thicken the sauce without going to the trouble of a roux. And it won’t be lumpy! If the sauce seems to have thickened unevenly just mix or stir the inside of the bake as you serve it.
Easy Vegetables
The other thing that makes this smoked mackerel bake really easy and low prep is the choice of vegetables. Tinned sweetcorn just need draining, and the tomatoes and mushrooms don’t need peeling. I fry the mushrooms and tomatoes to release some of the liquid so they don’t make the sauce too wet – this is also a good tip for making your own pizza!
We served it with garlic bread and rocket, but it would be just as good with mashed potato, crusty bread or a green vegetable.
This low prep smoked mackerel bake recipe is full of flavour - with no added fat. Serves 4 with sides.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small punnet cherry tomatoes 18 tomatoes
- 250 g mushrooms 9oz, a generous handful or so
- 1 packet smoked mackerel fillets Just over 200g/7 oz, two fillets
- 1 325g(13.5 floz) can sweetcorn
- 560 ml milk 1 pint
- 2 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 1 cup dried stuffing mix
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/220C/428F) .Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Halve the cherry tomatoes and quarter the mushrooms, and put them in the oil, stirring occasionally.
While they're frying pull the skin off the fish fillets and break them up. sprinkle them in a rectangular ovenproof dish. Drain the sweetcorn and mix it in.
Mix the cornflour to a paste with a little of the milk and add it to the rest of the milk, stirring well.
Stir the tomato and mushroom mixture into the fish and sweetcorn and spread it out evenly. Pour the milk over and stir well.
Sprinkle the stuffing mix over evenly and bake in the oven for 45 minutes - or until the topping is golden and the sauce thickened.
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