prize-winners: mustardy mackerel fishcakes

foodfullstop, a website through which you can source fresh and great quality food, has chosen my mustardy mackerel fishcakes as one of the winners in their recent recipe competition.

these fishcakes consistently get good feedback so if you haven't tried them already, now's the perfect time. and if you sign up to the foodfullstop newsletter you'll get a copy of the recipe in your inbox at some point soon, no doubt complete with their suggestions for sourcing good smoked mackerel.

as for me, i'm waiting for my prize of six fabulous new cookery books! i wonder what they'll be...

mustardy mackerel fishcakes (makes 6-8)

500g potatoes, diced

225g peppered smoked mackerel

grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 bunch spring onions, chopped

1 heaped tablespoon wholegrain mustard

polenta, for coating the fishcakes (optional)

cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling water, until tender. drain and mash them.

remove the skin from the mackerel fillets and flake into bite-size pieces, removing any stray bones. add this to the potato plus the lemon zest and juice, spring onions and mustard. mix well and season to taste.

shape the mixture into fishcakes and coat them with polenta (pour some onto a plate to make this easy). cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

heat the olive oil in a frying pan. when it is hot add the fishcakes and cook for c5 minutes on each side. the first time i made this we had it with spinach, more recently i made a green bean, beetroot, goats cheese and rocket salad.

these freeze well, just allow them to defrost before cooking them - oven-baking them for 30 mins at 180c, once they defrost, is best as they can be a little tricky to fry if they have been frozen! the picture above shows them having been oven-baked and served with garlicky runner beans.