Inspiration for recipes can come from many places: a surprisingly delicious lunch in a neighbourhood cafe; thumbing through a dog-eared recipe book in a charity shop; or the arrival of an item you never ordered in an online food shop. Today’s dish was born out of that latter scenario, when four packets of smoked mackerel turned up unannounced. Otherwise, it uses pantry ingredients that I tend always to have in stock, so this works well for a weeknight evening when we need something quick and easy.
Quick roast potatoes with tomato sauce and smoked mackerel
Prep 10 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 2-3
750g potatoes
Olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary
Salt
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 brown onion (150g), peeled and roughly diced
1 red pepper, stem, pith and seeds discarded, flesh cut into dice
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
¼ tsp chilli powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
tbsp capers in vinegar, roughly chopped, plus 2 tsp of the vinegar
2 smoked mackerel fillets
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Peel the potatoes, then cut them into 2cm cubes. Scatter these in a large oven tray and toss with a drizzle of olive oil, the dried rosemary and a generous pinch of salt. Roast for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, start the sauce by warming a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan. Fry the garlic over a low heat for one to two minutes, until it’s just starting to colour, then add the onion and pepper, and fry over a medium heat for five minutes, until the onion is starting to soften. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, chilli, paprika and a quarter-teaspoon of fine salt, cook for another six minutes, until the sauce has thickened, then stir through the capers, their vinegar and one more tablespoon of oil.
Once the potatoes are crisp and golden, transfer to plates, then spoon the piping hot sauce over the top, followed by roughly torn chunks of the mackerel.
• The Guardian aims to publish recipes for sustainable fish. Check ratings in your region: UK; Australia; US.
