Wednesday 29 April 2015

Smoked Mackerel with a Green Lentil, Beetroot and Feta Salad

I always try to make my meals for Oscar quite balanced, so this is a great recipe to try. Packed with protein and fibre and tastes great (so good that me and Matt will also be having this for tea!) I have taken inspiration from a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe for this meal 👍

To make this recipe as quick and easy as possible I have bought pre-cooked mackerel which is ready to eat. These are stocked in supermarkets in the fish aisle pre-packed. I am also going to use long life steamed beetroot which again is pre-cooked and packed. This is usually lurking in the veg aisle in supermarkets.

Beetroot is thought to improve digestion and is now hailed as a superfood. As Oscar does suffer from constipation and trapped wind, I thought it would be a great food to try. 

Today I am using:

Smoked mackerel (ready to eat)
Green lentils
Cooked beetroot
Feta cheese (any crumbly cheese is good!)
Lemon juice
Splash olive oil 
Veggie stock 

Recipe:

Wash lentils in clean water. Put into saucepan and add plenty of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for a minute before draining. Return to pan covering with veggie stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook slowly for 25-30 mins until tender (not mushy). Make sure at all times the saucepan has not run dry otherwise you will be left with mush. Drain lentils add juice of lemon and a splash of olive oil. Leave to one side.

Cut beetroot and feta into manageable sizes for your child and mix with the lentils. Once you have managed to wrestle the packet of mackerel open (I'll admit, I did struggle!) take half to one piece of mackerel and gently scrape off skin from the back. Then flake into manageable pieces and add to mix. **Do take into account that although pre-packed mackerel is usually boneless, always thoroughly check**. Use a hand blender to purée depending on child's age/preference. I leave mine in small pieces as Oscar prefers a bit of texture. 

For adults: we dressed our lentils with more olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar for a bit of extra zing!

And there you have it, wasn't too difficult! And tastes great! 



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