“Griddled Mackerel with Pickled Cucumber and Beetroot and Potato Salad” from “Virgin to Veteran”

Anna: We’re have a Scandiwegian feast tonight. Scandi food is very in right now, so you’ll be pleased to hear our meal is bang up to date.

Peter: I’m thinking herring. I’m thinking roll-mops. Should we be eating this in permanent darkness? Or perhaps cut in two on a bridge somewhere?

Anna: It’s mackerel actually.

Peter: Well I know that. We haven’t had it for a while. I can feel those fishy oils opening my arteries.

Anna: Do you like it? What about the potato salad?

Peter: It was nice. You would be hard-pressed to pick out the potato amongst the beetroot. I’m sorry, I didn’t pick up on the horseradish at all.  Was this 15 of our 5 a day?

Anna: It was a lot of veg. I like this recipe but there were too many bits to cobble together at once which just makes me cross. We are going to have it again next week but I’m going to skip the cucumber pickle, nice though it was, and not bother flouring the mackerel.

Peter: Why don’t you ask Maggie what she thought of it? She polished off the skin!

“Smoked Salmon”, “Potato Salad”, “Beets and Cottage Cheese”, “Rye Bread and Homemade Butter” from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals

Time taken: 33min 22 secs. (not including prep time)

Anna: Bloody Jamie. He’s gone too far this time.

Kirstin: I love this recipe. I would DEFINITELY make this again. I’d make this every day. For a week.

Anna: What did you like about it so much?

Kirstin: I thought the flavours were great. And, home-made butter.  Even though it took most of that half an hour figuring out how to fit the whisk attachment to the food processor. I would definitely make my own butter again! And it was a joy to take pictures in the daytime. Just a joy with natural daylight.

Anna: What a mess though!

Kirstin: You just put it into the dishwasher! It was fine….

Anna: But if you don’t have a dishwasher, you’ve got a food processor and a whisk and your hands covered in sodding butter. Anyway, tell me about how you draped the salmon in rustic waves…. and the erratically chunked beetroot….

Kirstin: Yeah, nevermind.

Anna: Really, this recipe was just about assembling various pre packed ingredients, with a bit of potato-boiling and butter-making thrown to make look more like cooking. It’s no wonder it only took half an hour.

Kirstin: It was good though, it was yummy!

Anna: I agree, but it was more faff than it needed to be. Honestly.

Kirstin: Well I’d like it again please. I wonder if I should make my own butter again. The cottage cheese!

Anna: It was just cottage cheese, with some seasoning.

Kirstin: And the beetroot with balsamic vinegar!

Anna: Yes. Exactly.  Too much faff.

Kirstin: It was pretty exhausting. Did we win the cuddly toy?