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. 

Roasted potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini

This is my new favourite way to do veggies at dinnertime. These roasted vegetables go well with roasted chicken thighs or meatloaf.

Roasted potatoes, tomatoes and zucchini

two handfuls fingerling potatoes, halved
one pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, whole
4 sprigs thyme
one zucchini, cut into coins
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients on a baking tray, drizzle over the olive oil and sprinkle over the salt and pepper. Mix everything together with your hands. Roast in a 425 degree F oven for 25 minutes.

Beef and sausage meatloaf

Meatloaf. Not exactly a sexy thing to plop on the table, but it's so delicious and satisfying. And feeds a lot of people. #FamilyFood. I used Simply Recipes' Classic Meatloaf recipe and just substituted oats for the breadcrumbs. In a classic meatloafy way, it refused to look good for the picture, even going so far as to fall apart. I think that's because my carrot dice might have been too big. I will grate them next time and see if that makes a difference. This is a great-tasting recipe!

Roasted chicken drumsticks with sausage, olives and tomatoes

Ahh, two kinds of meat. Mediterranean veggies. One pot meal. I got to use my Le Creuset. There are so many things I love about this dish. I adapted it from Jamie Oliver's version here. 

Roasted chicken drumsticks with sausage, tomatoes and olives
10 chicken drumsticks
1 cooked sweet Italian sausage, sliced into thick 1/2-inch coins
2 handfuls of red and yellow cherry and cocktail tomatoes, whole
4 garlic cloves, crushed, skin still on
quarter cup of kalamata olives, pitted
a pinch of red pepper flakes
one can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
six fingerling potatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Season the chicken drumsticks with salt and pepper on all sides. In a casserole pan, scatter the basil, fingerling potatoes olives, cannellini beans, tomatoes and garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and red pepper flakes. Mix together to be evenly coated. Tuck the chicken legs and sausage slices in and around the vegetables, making sure the vegetables are mostly on the bottom. Cook for 1½ hours until the chicken is falling off the bone and the skin is crispy. 

A summery salmon dinner for kids

We visited my parents over the long weekend and my dad made this summer salmon menu for the kids. Salmon baked from frozen on a bed of yellow zucchini, parboiled carrots and butterfly pasta cooked with cheese and tomato.

A lovely summery meal for kids! They ate it outside on the patio. Of course they did not appreciate it as much as they should have, but I know for a fact it was a great meal because I ate the leftovers!

Tagliatelle with pancetta, gorgonzola and leeks

Here's another tasty recipe by Simply Italian. Pasta del Papa. Who knew that just a few ingredients — tagliatelle, pancetta, leeks, gorgonzola cheese — could taste so delicious together. And this recipe's really quick!

The recipe's published on the Chiappa sisters' website.

But what really inspired me to try it was watching them make it on YouTube (Jamie Oliver's Food Tube channel). 

Farfalle with tomatoes, olives and spinach

I recently discovered a cooking show called Simply Italian starring the Chiappa sisters, who are based in Wales. I have to say that I love their recipes. I've only tried two so far, but they've tasted fantastic and it's so convenient that they're only a few ingredients each. That makes shopping for them very easy. Here's the first I want to share with you:

Farfalle with tomatoes, olives and spinach. 

The base for the sauce is the Chiappa family's tomato sauce, which is lovely and easy to make. This recipe's oozy and gooey because of the addition of mozzarella cheese. The olives give it a nice, salty kick, and the spinach makes it super healthy.

Please click here to find the recipe on Channel 4's website.