What to eat in July

Mackerel

This oily fish with its greenyblue skin and silver belly has juicy flesh and a rich flavour. Mackerel is also high in omega-3 fatty acids. It's a great fish for roasting whole stuffed with herbs or grilled and served with mustard and lemon butter.

GOES WITH spices, citrus fruits, tapenade, herbs, tomatoes, butter.

Spiced mackerel fillets with potato salad
40 minutes
EASY

cumin seeds 2 tsp, crushed
coriander seeds 2 tsp, crushed
cayenne pepper ½ tsp
turmeric ½ tsp
lemons 2, 1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges to serve
mackerel fillets 8, skin on and scaled

Potato Salad
small new potatoes 500g, halved
spring onions 4, chopped
lemon 1, zested and juiced
olive oil 3 tbsp
parsley a large bunch, chopped

• Mix together the cumin, coriander, cayenne and turmeric with the lemon juice and season really well. Make diagonal slashes in the skin of the mackerel and rub the spice mix all over. Leave for 20 minutes to marinate.
• To make the salad, boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes until tender. Toss with the other ingredients while warm.
• Grill the mackerel skin-side up for about 7 minutes until cooked through. Serve with the potato salad. Serves 4

Pea, feta and herb fritters
30 minutes
EASY

These colourful fritters make a good veggie dish - serve with some roasted tomatoes on the side. Young peas will only need a brief blanch to take away the rawness.

plain flour 100g
baking powder 1 tsp
egg 1
milk 150ml
peas 100g, blanched for 2 minutes and drained
feta 100g, cut into small cubes
soft herbs such as chives, parsley, basil 1 or a mixture chopped to make 2 tbsp
spring onions 2, chopped
oil for frying
roasted cherry tomatoes on the vine to serve

• Mix together the flour, baking powder, egg and milk to make a batter. Stir in the peas, feta, herbs and spring onions and season really well.
• Heat a large non-stick frying pan with a little oil. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes each side until golden and cooked through. Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve 3 per person with roasted cherry tomatoes on the side. Serves 4

Brioche French toast with warm blueberry compote
30 minutes
EASY

There should be loads of blueberries around now - look for Scottish blueberries as they are grown quite widely there.

eggs 2
milk 4 tbsp
caster sugar 1 tbsp
vanilla extract a drop
brioche 4 thick slices from a loaf
butter for frying
vanilla ice cream to serve

Blueberry Compote

blueberries 100g
caster sugar 1 tbsp
lemon a squeeze of juice

• Put the compote ingredients in a pan. Heat gently until the blueberries start to pop and release their juice then simmer for 2-3 minutes until jammy.
• To make the French toast, mix together the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla extract until the sugar has dissolved. Dip the bread in the egg mix so it is thoroughly coated. Fry slices in the butter until golden brown on both sides. Serve the French toast with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and the blueberry compote. Serves 2