I don’t know about you, but my shopping can be a little . . . chaotic.  Most of the time I go to the supermarket with no idea what I’m going to buy, or what meals I’m going to make in the week.  I tend to grab items at random, and hope that it all comes together into something delicious when I get to the kitchen.  This recipe is the product of one such shopping trip.

Ingredients:

• 200g spaghetti (I used wholewheat)
• Packet of cherry tomatoes (about 300g)
• 4 rashers bacon (I used smoked streaky)
• Pinch of chilli flakes
• Juice of one lemon
• 1tbsp butter (or my citrus and herb compound butter)
• 4 pre-cooked mackerel fillets
• Parmesan cheese to finish

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Method:

Set your pasta cooking by following the instructions on the packet.

Chop the bacon into fine strips (I use scissors for this) and fry in a large frying pan, adding a little bit of oil if you need to.  Once the bacon starts to turn golden around the edges, halve the tomatoes and add them to the pan.  Fry on a medium-high heat until the tomatoes have released their juices and the pan looks dry.

Add the chilli, butter and lemon juice and continue to cook until the lemon juice has sizzled away.  Remove the skin from the mackerel fillets and flake them into the pan.  Stir everything gently together, trying not to break up the pieces of mackerel. Drain your pasta and add to the pan, stirring together with the sauce for a minute until everything is well coated.

Serve with a generous grating of parmesan cheese.