Fish bento #6 - mackerel pate

Yes, I have been eating a lot of fish lately! Today’s bento is one that can be made easily in a hurry as the pate takes just a few minutes to make.

For the pate, take a small (or half) raw mackerel fillet and poach it in a cup of water with some salt, pepper and a bay leaf added. You can also use cooked smoked mackerel from the supermarket – just skip this step and the seasonings. 

Once the mackerel is cooked (about 5-6 mins), remove the skin and flake it with a fork. To get the smoother consistency required for pate, I think you really need to mush the fish with your fingers, which is what I do. Once it is the consistency you like, add 1tsp Greek yoghurt (or any plain yoghurt that is thick rather than runny) and ½ teaspoon mustard. If you don’t like mustard, use an extra ½ teaspoon of yoghurt and use herbs or paprika instead. Mix well with a spoon. 

I popped my pate into a little silicone cup and served it with carrot sticks, cucumber pieces, celery, a boiled egg and some greegages for dessert. 

Fish bento #1

This week I got a haul of new stuff from Bento & Co – so I have lots of new goodies to experiment with. Today I decided to use the Toji box. 

I like this one because it is very elegant – and it was inexpensive, too.

Today’s bento is fish-based. The main component is one of my favourite recipes by Jamie Oliver. I filled the shallow layer with 100g brown rice, which I topped with a grilled mackerel fillet. It looked a bit plain and brown, so I added an umeboshi for prettiness.

In the deep layer, I included a panda pot filled with the delicious dressing from Oliver’s recipe, some radishes spiked on cute panda picks, some purple sprouting broccoli, a portion of namuru, and some sliced poached carrot.

The only slightly annoying thing is that the panda's ears stick up too high for this box, so it didn't fit together as snugly as it should. However, thanks to the elastic band, it all held together well.