Mackerel tostadas

Last year I created some easy peasy Mexican recipes for the Allerhande street food special. Allerhande is a complimentary Dutch magazine published by supermarket chain Albert Heijn (the Sainsbury's of Holland). The special never saw the light of day; it was killed somewhere in a ferris wheel of corporate approvals... Of course, all recipes that appear in such supermarket-owned mags use prefab mixes and other processed ingredients that are, you guessed it, for sale at said supermarket. Despite this, two of my Mexican recipes use mainly fresh ingredients and are made from scratch. One of them is this one (for recipe, click 'read more'). The only ready made product in it is the flour tortilla. I'm not a huge fan of factory flour tortillas - they're usually dry and tasteless. However, if you brush them with oil and bake them in the oven they become crispy, like tortilla chips.

Mackerel tostadas

Serves 4

4 flour tortillas, quartered

2 tbsp olive oil

150g smoked mackerel, skin off

1 red onion, finely chopped

250 g cooked beetroot, chopped

1 bunch fresh coriander, leaves chopped

2 limes, 1 juiced

4 tbsp mayonnaise

2 avocados, sliced

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Brush the tortillas lightly with olive oil and place in a single layer onto a baking sheet. Use two baking sheets if necessary. Toast them in the oven until golden brown, turning them once. Leave to cool.

Shred the mackerel using two forks. Place in a bowl and mix in the onion, beets, coriander, lime juice and 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Stir a little lime juice into the mayonnaise.

Spread some lime mayo over the tortillas. Arrange the avocado slices over them, them top with a large spoonful of the mackerel mixture. Serve the mackerel tostadas with some lime wedges on the side.