Healthy Austerity?

I have of late posted little that would qualify as austerity cooking, partly as much of what we are eating is so simple - griddled meat, lots of salads, steamed veg - that it hardly qualifies as cooking (though Jamie Oliver could probably get a book out of discovering griddling as a fantastic new technique and teaching the mindless about it).

Yesterday I made one dish that definitely fits the bill as cheap and cheerful, and decidedly healthy to boot. It also reminded me of (and was inspired by) happy times driving around France on business in my past life (not the one where I was an Egyptian princess). I made a point of eating in Relais Routier restaurants or similar places, rather than as I could have done heading to posher and fancier spots: stuff the foam I'll have tete d'agneau. A frequently encountered starter was mackerel in white wine served with potatoes, a take on which I served up as an hors d'oeuvre yesterday.

Ingredients to hand suggested the dish anyway - some leftover steamed new potatoes and a tub of Scottish pickled herring (£1.09 from Booth's, so much flavour for not very much dosh). Slice the spuds, add very thinly sliced raw onion, the herrings cut into bite-sized bits, and a mustardy dressing, and the starter was done in three minutes. It met the current health regime requirements too, as the dressing was lo-cal with a bit of extra mustard, the spuds were in their skins so low GI with raw (vitamin rich) onion weighing in on that side too, and the fish was of a so-jolly-good-for-us oily variety.

The French tend to serve the classic version warm, but my dish did not lack flavour for being cold. It was in fact delicious.

It struck me too that this would be another good student standby for communal weekend eating - three of us had two helpings, so for a single plate for six (with a few more spuds, and they don't need to be new ones either) I can't see it costing more than say 25p - 30p a head. Which along with the excellent flavour and quick prep is another reason why Relais Routier cooks serve it so often. With the carbs taken care of too it means the main can be as ours was yesterday protein and veg (griddled turkey breast steak, griddled mushrooms and steamed mange tout). Pukka (go away Mr Oliver).