I can’t believe I ever used to buy smoked mackerel pate from the supermarket when it is so damn quick and easy to make.
A few months ago, the boyfriend and I went on a rather uninspiring daytrip to Maldon. Why? That is a very reasonable question and one I put to him quite bluntly at the time:
“Why Maldon?
“I thought it would be nice to get out of London”
“But why Maldon, what is there to do or see in Maldon?”
“There’s a river and a quay, we could have a picnic.”
“There’s a pond and heath in Hampstead, we could walk there and save the drive.”
“The sea salt you like comes from there.”
“I have some here.”
... and so forth.
Anyway, you know who won. The boyfriend knows that throwing food into the equation usually tips the balance in his favour, so he offered to buy me lunch. Had I known the choices I would be presented with upon arrival in Maldon, I would have stayed put. However, one good thing was to come of this lack of culinary choices. Mackerel.
Having surveyed the options, I suggested we go to M&S and buy the makings of a picnic. The boyfriend thought all his Christmases had come at once; was I really suggesting he need not pay for Sunday lunch after all? Yes honey, really.
Among our spoils was a packet of smoked mackerel. We had eyes bigger than our stomachs and, despite making rather a mess of the stuff, we didn’t actually consume a hell of a lot of it. As a result, when we got home I had an open packet of perfectly good, but rather mucky looking fish. So I experimented and this was the result.
This makes enough for 4 starter portions like the one pictured. The greenery is not just for looks, the peppery flavour of rocket or watercress is highly complementary. I served this round with Burgen soya and linseed toast because that is what I had, but good oatmeal biscuits work well too.
Ingredients
* Mackerel is already quite high in fat, so if you are minding your calorie intake I find half fat creme fraiche works just as well
Method
Remove the skin from each fillet. Roughly break up the flesh of 2 of the fillets and place in a food processor. Place the remaining fillet in a mixing bowl and flake the flesh using your hands (or a fork, if you don’t like fish fingers) and set aside.
Add the crème fraiche and lemon juice to the food processor and blend until smooth. Empty this mixture into the mixing bowl with the flakes of fish. Add the Dijon, horseradish and pepper and stir until combined.
That’s it!
