Mackerel goujons

We have moments when we crave oily fish - when I was busy at work it was all I wanted - there's power in that term 'brain food'. We've recently fallen out of love with tinned fish and the tins have been neatly stacked in our cupboard waiting patiently.

As part of our health kick, we decided that we wanted a mackerel salad for dinner. I love smoked mackerel fillets, especially when they're hot from the oven. Straight from the tin can be a little eek for me - I get bogged down in the bones. Mr M invariably finishes his dinner well ahead of me. I really didn't fancy cold, straight from the tin fish nor did I want to ignore them again so had a quick look at the John West website to find some inspiration. They had an interesting recipe for mackerel goujons - albeit with lemon rind and a lime and caper dressing. So, using that as inspiration I created my own version sans citrus.

Mackerel goujons - serves 2

1 small tin of mackerel fillets in oil, drained but retain the oil
1 small tin of mackerel fillets in tomato sauce
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
Handful of Chives, finely chopped
Breadcrumbs
Handful of Parmesan or Gran Padano cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Place all of the mackerel fillets on a baking tray. Some will fall apart - I stuck them back together again - think rustic fish cake.
3. In a bowl, add the breadcrumbs, chives, cheese, garlic and season. Stir to mix. Add a dessert spoon of the reserved oil to the mixture and combine.
   
4. Pile the mix on top of the fish and pop in the oven until the breadcrumbs have turned golden.
5. Serve on top of a fresh, green salad with a couple of toasted pitta breads and mayonnaise on the side.

We both agreed that this is the only way to eat tinned mackerel going forward. Miss P also agreed. She would like us to eat it morning, noon and night. Mackerel was declared lip-smacking, whisker-licking, ear-washingly scrumptious.

Random note - we've noticed that Miss P has two very blunt whiskers on one side following her recent holiday - they look like they've been snipped. It's all very odd.