Fish Rillettes, Leek Fritters and Liver on Toast

Salty Squid starts to get very excited around this time of year. After a summer of eating nothing but leaves and hay, Mr Salty Squid is looking forward to stuffing his face with stews, casseroles, hot pots, curries, mash potato, and baby elephants. And what of the beautiful picture above, you ask? Well that was a plum and chocolate cake Miss Salty Squid whipped up. It has nothing to do with this weeks tapas, nor does the rant about stews etc, but hey, that's the essence of Salty Squid, pointless, in a meaningful kind of way.


Mackerel and Tuna Rillettes With Toasted Croutons

Ingredients: 2 fillets of fresh mackerel; 1 tin tuna steak; 1/2-1 red onion; handful chopped chives; 2 egg yolks; white wine vinegar; 2-3 tsp Dijon mustard; rapeseed oil; salt & pepper; 2-3 tbsp capers; juice of 1 lime; 1/2 baguette or few slices of bread or toast...

First, bake the mackerel fillets in oven, 180 degrees, for 15-20 min. Allow to cool and carefully flake the fish (taking out all fish bones you can find). Set aside and prepare the mayonnaise, by whisking the egg yolks together with the vinegar and mustard. Slowly add the rapeseed oil, while whisking like a world champion whisker. Drain the canned tuna and add to the mackerel flakes. Combine with finely chopped red onion, capers (which you fry for 2 min in a hot pan first), as much mayonnaise as you desire, and chopped chives. Season, and enjoy with some toasty fingers!






Leek Fritters

Ingredients: 2 Leeks, one in the sink the other in a bucket; 1x red onion diced; 1/2 tsp of whatever spices you have, I used tumeric, ciminaminoninon, fenugreek, chili powder and hot madras curry powder; 1x egg white well beaten and one whole egg, 110g flour, 1tbsp baking powder; .

Gently cook the leeks and red onions until soft. Add the spices and mix well. Set aside to cool. Whisk the egg white like a mo'-fo' and gently fold in the onions. It's best to make a better batter by mixing the flour, baking powder and egg together - whisking in some milk until its has the consistency of a troubled teenager. Add this to the onion mix - sorry I mean gently fold into the onion mix. I came up with this recipe and if Yotam Ottolenghi and his Plenty cookbook have a problem with well they can just sue me**


** suing not recommended, your book rocks Yotam, I have a wife and kids - sue them!***

*** original joke by Homer Simpson - please don't sue me either Homer!


Heat some oil in a pan and spoon in the better-batter, say 2 tbsp per fritter. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and some creme fraiche.





Liver on Toast with Sherry Vinegar

Ingredients: 100g of fresh lambs liver; some sherry vinegar; bread, slice and toasted

Get your pan good and hot, maybe some Barry White and dimmed lights will do the job. Add a drop of oil and fry the liver for about 2mins each side. Remove from the pan. De-glaze the pan with some sherry vinegar. Slice and arrange the liver on the toast and pour over the sauce.





In the glass
Chateau Cotes Du Gros Caillou, Saint Emilion, 2008

On the stereo
Arcade Fire, Nick Cave