breakfast treats

mackereltoast.jpg

one of the nicest things about long weekends – and the Easter four day bank holiday weekend is one of the best – is all the extra opportunities for breakfast treats.

somehow i very rarely manage to find time on a normal weekend, despite having a desire to create some breakfast rituals. i suppose the one we indulge in most often is bacon sandwiches but for the past two weekends we’ve had something new.

that something has been nigel slater’s smoked mackerel and parmesan on toast. in some ways it’s not much different to the mackerel pate i often make but the addition of parmesan makes it very different. cheese and smoked fish is a bit of an odd combination for me and every mouthful sees me checking that i still like it. as of today, i do.

my other recent breakfast indulgence was a trip to the wolseley. the wolseley is in a fabulous old building which is in the style of a grand european cafe – the interior, with its venetian and florentine influences is full of grand pillars, arches and stairways. amazingly, it was originally designed, in 1921, to be a car showroom!

my friend kirsty and i went for breakfast and had a lovely time, i’d thoroughly recommend the wolseley for a breakfast treat. kirsty had poached eggs on toast (which austerely arrived without any butter!) followed by jam and toast while i had a fantastically flavoursome, but quite rich, dish of grilled field mushrooms with liver and bacon. the liver and bacon mix was lightly covered with a thyme-flavoured creamy sauce. delicious. the hot chocolate i had to accompany it was well balanced, and while rich not too sweet.

nigel slater’s smoked mackerel and parmesan on toast (enough for 2)

200g smoked mackerel, skin and bones removed

3 tablespoons double cream (i used creme fraiche), plus a little more

3 tablespoons grated parmesan, plus a little more

6 chopped chives (i used parsley)

4 slices of bread, lightly toasted

flake the mackerel and mix lightly with the cream, parmesan and herbs plus some freshly crushed black pepper. pile the mixture onto the hot toast, drizzle with a little more cream and sprinkle with extra parmesan. grill for 3-4 minutes until golden and bubbling.

the wolseley

160 piccadilly, london w1j 9eb

www.thewolseley.com