Smoked Mackerel Salad

Smoked mackerel potato salad with eggs, quick-pickled onions, and Kalamata olives. A Romanian-inspired dish reminiscent of salată orientală, full of smoky, briny umami flavor and easy to make ahead. Makes about 6-8 full servings or 10-12 appetizer/canapé servings.

Course Appetizer, Lunch, Starter

Cuisine Eastern European, Romanian

Keyword Fish, Potatoes, salad

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 20

Cooling & Pickling Time 1

Total Time 1 45

Servings Servings

Calories 394kcal

Ingredients

1 whole cold-smoked mackerel (approx. 300–400 g / 10–14 oz whole fish)
5 medium-sized waxy potatoes
6 hard-boiled eggs
1 large red onion
0.5-1 cup white vinegar enough to cover onions
0.5 teaspoon salt for pickling onions
1 tablespoon salt for boiling potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil or more to taste
0.5-1 teaspoon black pepper or more to taste

Instructions

Quick-pickle the onions: Thinly slice the onions, place in a bowl, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt, and massage lightly. Cover with white vinegar (about ½ cup / 120 ml). Set aside to pickle while preparing the remaining ingredients (2 hours to overnight is ideal; for a faster pickle, heat the vinegar until steaming before pouring it over the onions).
Boil potatoes and eggs: Scrub the potatoes and place them in a pot of salted water. Add the eggs on top. Once boiling, cook the eggs for 9 minutes, then remove and cool in ice water. Continue cooking the potatoes until fork-tender, 15–20 minutes total. Drain and cool completely.
Prepare the mackerel: Keep the smoked mackerel very cold for easier handling (chill briefly in the freezer if needed). Split it open along the belly, remove the spine and any remaining bones, peel off the skin, and cut the fillets into bite-sized pieces.
Cut ingredients: Peel and quarter the eggs. Dice the cooled potatoes into olive-sized cubes. Drain the onions well.
Assemble: Combine potatoes, mackerel, eggs, onions, and olives in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and black pepper, and gently toss. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Nutrition