It’s been an exhausting week, one of those weeks when your social calendar goes unusually crazy and on top of that you’ve got a holiday to prepare for and presents to buy for your 3 year old niece. A perfect storm of craziness that leaves you feeling lost at sea and fuzzy headed (and no the red wine had nothing to do with it, promise)

So today I felt the need for healthiness and simplicity and when this happens there’s only one way to turn and that is to my food hero, the marvellous Mr Nigel Slater.

This coleslaw was exactly what I needed. Chunky flakes of smoked mackerel (my skin was crying out for a bit of oily fish), cool celeriac shreds and little bursts of mustard seeds, finished off with some smooth sour cream. A squeeze of lemon juice isn’t just perfect for cutting through the oiliness of the smoked fish, it also keeps the celeriac brilliantly white.

The flavours here work perfectly and pulling it together is ridiculously easy. As you can see from Nigel’s video here, you can even prepare the whole thing in the bowl of your food processor (not sure if the video works outside the UK, but I have my fingers crossed for you!) It makes a perfect light lunch, or would be ideal for some little pre-dinner nibbles.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I must pack for my trip to NYC! Whoop whoop!

Smoked Mackerel and Celeriac Coleslaw
Taken from Nigel Slater’s Dish of the Day TV Series
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 smoked mackerel fillets (or another hot smoked oily fish)
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1/4 celeriac (aka celery root) (or 1/2 if it’s a particularly small one)
2 tbsp sour cream
savoury biscuits to serve

Start by removing the skin from the mackerel and pulling out any tiny pin bones. Pull the mackerel into chunks and pop it into the food processor along with the olive oil, lemon juice and mustard. Pulse the mix a couple of times (you want to keep it chunky), then remove it to a bowl.

Next switch to the julienne or grating attachment in your processor and process the celeriac. Add the celeriac to the mackerel mix and gently stir in the sour cream.

Serve the coleslaw on some savoury biscuits or toasts. I went with a cheese oatcake, which worked beautifully. Enjoy!