Smoked fish, labneh and pickles: Rosie Birkett’s easy twixtmas dinner

Rosie Birkett’s smoked fish spread (clockwise from right): smoked salmon and mackerel with quick pickled carrot, cucumber, radish and onion; soured cream horseradish labneh with crisp capers; and baked potatoes with butter and lumpfish caviar. Photograph: Luke J Albert/The Guardian. Food and prop styling: Rosie Birkett. Food assistant: Nena Foster.

The idea here is you make a big batch of the pickles for everyone to dive into, to accompany a platter of assorted smoked fish, and baked potatoes poshed-up with horseradish and dill labneh and a pop of salty fish roe, which adds a lovely sparkle. I use lumpfish or trout roe to dress them up along with chopped chives, but if you’re not a fan of fish eggs, just leave them out. Smoked salmon is super-expensive these days, so I buy just one packet and mix it up with smoked mackerel, haddock and a tin of something delicious such as smoked oysters, which are a treat for less than £3.

Smoked fish and pickle platter