Hot-smoked mackerel & horseradish on toast

Ingredients

• 4 Cornish mackerel fillets, pin-boned, skin-on
• Fine oak chips
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 20g chives, finely chopped
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• Freshly grated horseradish, to taste
• 2 thick slices of sourdough
• Salted butter, to serve
• 4 breakfast radishes, thinly sliced
• Olive oil, to serve

Method

Season the mackerel lightly with salt and place skin-side down on a cooling rack. Leave for 20 mins so the flesh firms slightly.

Scatter a thin layer of oak chips into the base of a roasting tray. Set the rack of mackerel over the top.

Cover the tray tightly with foil and place it over a low heat on the hob. After a few minutes the chips will begin to smoke, filling the sealed tray with heat and smoke. Leave the fish to cook gently in this enclosed heat for 8-10 mins, until just cooked through.

Remove the foil and allow the mackerel to cool to room temperature, then flake the flesh into a bowl.

Add the cream cheese, chives and lemon zest. Beat together into a coarse pâté, seasoning with salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and as much freshly grated horseradish as it can manage.

While the mackerel is cooling down, place the radish slices into a bowl of iced water – this will make them extra crisp.

Toast the bread and butter it generously. Spread with the smoked mackerel pâté, scatter over the sliced radishes and finish with a small drizzle of olive oil.

Image: Ben Slater