Smoked Fish pate recipe

Although I have put a list of smoked fish in the ingredients section, you can pretty much use any combination of smoked fish either to suit your own personal taste or to use whatever’s in the fridge. The quantities don’t really matter either. So this recipe is just a basic guide as to how to make a smoked fish pate – the rest is up to you. I tend to use the cheaper cuts of meat for this. We are going to mash it all up so there’s no real point in buying an expensive cut that looks pretty. This takes almost no time at all, the only proviso I make is that it’s important to check for bones in the fish and remove them before starting. After that, anything goes. This is enough for about 8 people as an appetizer.

You will need:

Equipment:

• A sharp knife
• A cutting board
• A bowl
• A fork
• 1 large serving dish or several small ones

Ingredients:

• A smoked mackerel
• A smoked trout
• ½ lb smoked salmon
• Any other smoked fish
• ½ lb butter
• A small onion
• A lemon
• Nutmeg ¼ fresh nutmeg or ½ teaspoon of dried
• Salt and pepper

For the garnish:

• Lemon wedges
• A handful watercress or a sprig of parsley
• Cayenne pepper

First, take the butter out of the fridge and allow it to come up to room temperature. Now, skin all the fish and make sure there are no bones. Put the trout and mackerel into a large bowl. Now, chop the smoked salmon as finely as possible. A very sharp knife is important for this. Salmon will not flake easily like trout or mackerel so this is an important step. Add the salmon to the bowl. Now peel and chop the onion very finely and add to the mix along with the butter and lemon juice. Mash everything together with a fork until well blended. This is not a smooth pate so don’t worry if there are a few lumps.

Season to taste with nutmeg, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Pack the mixture into a large terrine or several small ramekins, cover with aluminum foil and place in a refrigerator to chill for at least two hours.

Serve with triangles of wholewheat toast or hot fresh French bread. Garnish with a dash of cayenne pepper, a sprinkling of water cress or parsley and lemon wedges. Presentation is important with this dish, so take care to make it as pretty as possible.

Bon Apetit!