Smoked mackerel and beetroot on rye
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Kris Kirkham
Smoked mackerel and beetroot on rye
Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
229Kcal
Fat
13gr
Saturates
5gr
Carbs
19gr
Sugars
11gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
9gr
Salt
1gr
Rosie Ramsden
Rosie Ramsden is a food writer, artist and stylist living in East London. Her book, The Recipe Wheel, is designed to help you adapt favourite recipes and inspire creative cooking.
Rosie Ramsden
Rosie Ramsden is a food writer, artist and stylist living in East London. Her book, The Recipe Wheel, is designed to help you adapt favourite recipes and inspire creative cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 raw beetroot, about 80-90g each, scrubbed
- ½ tsp caraway seeds
- 100ml cider vinegar
- 50g caster sugar
- 2 whole black peppercorns
- 60g full-fat creme fraiche
- 1 ½ tbsp creamed horseradish
- ¼ tsp lemon juice
- 4 slices rye bread, each cut into 8 squares
- 2 smoked mackerel fillets, skin removed and flaked
Step by step
Get ahead
The pickled beetroot keeps for up to 3 months. Make the creme fraiche horseradish cream and toast the rye bread a few hours ahead. Once assembled, they will hold well for up to 1 hour before serving.
- Trim the beetroot, leaving a little of the root and stalk attached. Add to a small pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 45-60 minutes until tender to the point of a knife. Drain, then once cool enough to handle, rub off the skins (wear disposable gloves) and finely dice.
- Heat a small dry frying pan and toast the caraway seeds for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the vinegar, sugar and peppercorns to the pan and simmer until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, add the beetroot to the pickle and set aside for at least 30 minutes, or spoon into a warm sterilised jar and keep sealed for up to 3 months.
- Mix the creme fraiche and horseradish together in a bowl, add the lemon juice, a pinch of salt and season heavily with freshly ground black pepper.
- Heat the grill to high. Put the rye bread pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Lightly toast for 2 minutes on each side until crisp. Remove from the oven and arrange on a serving platter or board. Spoon a little of the creme fraiche mixture on the bread, top with a teaspoon of the pickled beetroot, draining away the pickle juice and peppercorns, and finish with a little of the flaked mackerel.
