SMOKED MACKEREL AND HORSERADISH BUTTER

60 MINS

SERVES 4 For the potatoes

4 medium-sized baking potatoes

olive oil, to coat

For the topping

2 tbsp creamed horseradish sauce, or more to taste

40g butter, melted 4 large smoked mackerel fillets, skin and bones removed and flesh pulled into large flakes

80g crème fraiche or sour cream

½ tsp unsmoked paprika

½ small bunch of dill, finely chopped

2 large gherkins, very finely diced

Preheat the oven to 200C/ 180C fan/gas mark 6.

Rinse the potatoes and then smother each one in about a teaspoon of olive oil, coating well with your hands. Add a good pinch of salt to each potato, again coating the surface all over with your hands.

Set the potatoes on a baking tray and bake for about 50 minutes to one hour, until the centre is soft throughout (test with a sharp knife) and the skins are crisp and golden.

In a mixing bowl, combine the horseradish with the melted butter. Add the mackerel and crème fraiche or sour cream and stir through. Season well to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Make a slit in each hot baked potato and stuff a quarter of the mackerel mixture into each one. Then sprinkle each potato with a good pinch of paprika as a final seasoning. Garnish the lot with the chopped dill and gherkins and serve.