Smoked mackerel

Ingredients

6 Fillets of smoked mackerel

2 red onions, finely sliced

2 spring onions, finely sliced

6 tomatoes on the vine, sliced into rounds

large handful of parsley , chopped.

2 lemons

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

salt and pepper




1. Take the red onions place in a bowl add 1tbsp of salt, squeeze and scrunch this into the onions, (sounds peculiar but my mum does this). Take the onions and wash them in water to remove the salt. Squeeze out the water. Place back into the bowl and add the red wine vinegar.Set aside

The reason this process is done is the salt removes some of the bitterness and also soften the onions.The red wine vinegar is added to marinate the onions.

2. Get a large plate and break the fillets of mackerel into bite sized pieces. Arrange the fillets in a single layer all over the plate.

3. Go back to the onions, add the sliced tomato , chopped spring onions ( these add freshness and crunch) , parsley, squeeze lemon to taste. Salt and pepper . Mix the ingredients. Put the onions over the mackerel .Let the salad sit and all the juices will mix together, the smokiness of the mackerel will permeate and adds fragrance to the onions and the tomatoes.The vinegar ,lemon cuts the richness of the smoked mackerel .It balances the salad ,serve this salad with with plain rice. I love to eat this with a large hunk of sourdough bread, and some beautiful red wine.

Ginger Root

Ginger Root
Originally uploaded by cfwhitney

I have a really sore throat, my mum always insist we have ginger tea, as this is what she used in seychelles as a child.Its very soothing and tastes fabulous.

Ginger tea

Take a piece of ginger and slice into rounds.
Crush slices .
Pour boiling water onto the slices into a teacup.
Infuse five or six minutes
Add honey to sweeten.
You could strain the ginger but I don t, I leave the ginger in the cup and crush them with my teeth to release extra gingerflavour. It works wonders.