3 WAYS WITH TINNED FISH

SMOKED SARDINE OMELETTE

Sauté a small sliced red onion in 1 tbsp butter till golden. Add 50g of halved mixed rosa tomatoes plus the contents of a 100g tin flaked smoked sardines, and toss. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, remove from the heat and place in a bowl. Melt 1 tbsp butter in the same pan on a low heat, add three beaten eggs and allow to cook slowly. As the egg on the edges of the pan starts to cook, use a spatula to push it towards the middle for more even cooking. Place the sardine mixture and 60g baby spinach on one half of the omelette, fold the other half over the filling and allow to cook for a minute to slightly wilt the spinach. Remove from the heat and serve immediately. Serves 1-2.

SAVOURY MACKEREL MUFFINS

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Sift together 200g cake flour and 2 tsp baking powder. In a separate bowl, mix together 3 lightly beaten eggs, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, 100ml oil and 100ml milk. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Fold in 200g flaked tinned mackerel (we used Saldanha Middlecut), 2 tbsp chopped chives and 2 chopped spring onions. Fill the cups of a greased muffin tin with spoonfuls of the mixture and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden and cooked. Serve with chilli chutney. Makes 6 medium-size muffins.

TUNA ‘MEATBALLS’ WITH SPAGHETTI

In a bowl, mix together 200g tinned tuna (drained), 2 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley, 100g fresh breadcrumbs, 1 lightly beaten egg, and the juice and zest of 1 lemon. Season well. Take spoonfuls of the mixture and form into little balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. For the sauce, sauté a chopped onion in 1 tbsp olive oil till golden. Add 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tbsp dried oregano and a 400g tin chopped tomatoes. Season, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Heat a glug of veg oil in a pan and fry the balls until golden. Add them to the tomato mixture and cook for 5 minutes so the balls are infused with the sauce. Remove from heat and serve on a swirl of cooked spaghetti. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 4.

2 3

TIP: Cook the omelette gently on a low heat to prevent it from burning or sticking to the pan, and for even cooking. 1