Smoked mackerel and potato salad

Mom, who grew up eating smoked eel in the Netherlands, brought us a smoked mackerel recently. I had a reason to try out a recipe from Australian chef Bill Granger's cookbook Bills Breakfast, Lunch + Dinner that I had always coveted. This is the first cookbook that S ever bought for himself, back in 2004, and since then we've cooked from it often. Bill's recipe calls for smoked trout, but we substituted mackerel. You could serve this salad with any smoked fish and it would still be delicious.

Smoked mackerel and potato salad

Inspired by Bill Granger's Bills Breakfast, Lunch + Dinner

Serves 4

100 ml olive oil

50 ml lemon juice

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

a few shakes of sea salt

ground black pepper

2 Tbsp chopped mint

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1 stalk celery, diced

1 Tbsp capers, whole

500 g baby potatoes

250 g smoked mackerel, skin and bones removed

5 oz arugula

Make the dressing: Dissolve the salt in the red wine vinegar. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly to emulsify. Whisk in the remaining dressing ingredients: lemon juice, garlic, pepper, mint, parsley, celery and capers. Set aside.

Cook the potatoes: Cut the baby potatoes in half and put them in a pot on the stove. Cover them with cold water by about an inch. Add half a teaspoon of salt to the water. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until a fork can easily poke through them. Drain the potatoes. Toss the potatoes in the dressing while they are still warm and set aside.

Plate the salad: Arrange a layer of arugula on four plates. Gently layer the dressed potatoes over the arugula. Top with the smoked mackerel.