SMOKED MACKEREL PATÉ

This has to be one of the least inspiring photos I have ever posted in the blog but don’t let it put you off……..

At a couple of events in France last summer bowls of this stuff appeared on the table with the other nibbles.  When I said how delicious it was the ladies who produced it told me how easy it was to make.  I next encountered it when we went to a restaurant for a pre-Christmas meal with family where it was served as a starter and I thought it was time to have a go myself.

Dead easy it really is and tasty in measures well beyond the level of competence required to make it.
The first time I made it I blitzed it in my food processor and it turned out really smooth.  The next time roughed up the fish with a fork then processed it only a little so that it turned out more rustic in appearance.  I preferred it this way, although it did leave the odd tiny bone.

You can make it look much fancier by adding herbs or salad.  I liked serving mine in my ancient lidded dish made by Pearsons of Chesterfield, the maker of rustic cookware now sadly long gone.  I could just pop on the lid and leave it in the fridge where it kept well for several days allowing us to dig in as and when we wanted.

Ingredients

A twin pack of smoked mackerel fillets
1 tblsp crème fraîche
1 tblsp full fat cream cheese
1 tsp French mustard
1 tsp horseradish sauce or creamed horseradish
a few drops of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Remove the skin from the fish and place in a small bowl.  Mash it with a fork to break it up then transfer to the bowl of a food processor.  Blitz briefly for rustic looking paté or for longer for a smoother paté.
Stir in the other ingredients and mix until well combined.
Serve chilled to spread on toast, bread or crackers, or as a filling for a jacket potato.  You can dress it up with herbs or by serving with salad and a lemon wedge on the side. 

Serves 6 with an apéro, 4 as a starter, just 1 or 2 as a jacket potato filling.