Smoked Salmon Pate

Storing and Planning Ahead

Keeps in the fridge for 3 days, covered.

How to Make Smoked Salmon Pate

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1. Pulse the salmon, cream cheese, cream and lemon juice in a food processor until almost smooth.

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2. Stir in the dill and pepper by hand and taste.

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3. Pack into a ramekin, smooth the top and chill for 20 minutes.

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4. Serve with the oatcakes and lemon wedges.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Tips for Success

• Use salmon offcuts.
• Pulse, do not run the motor.
• Taste before adding salt.
• Chill before serving.

Behind the Recipe

It looks like a restaurant starter and takes five minutes, which is why it is a dinner party favourite. Smoked salmon, cream cheese and lemon blend into something far more refined than the sum of its parts.

Use offcuts if you can find them, because they are cheaper and make a perfectly good pate. Put the salmon, cream cheese, lemon juice and a little cream into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth, leaving a little texture. Overblending makes it pasty. Pulse, do not run the motor. A rough pate has more character than a smooth one.

Stir in the dill and black pepper by hand. Taste before adding any salt, because smoked salmon is already salty.

Pack the pate into a ramekin, smooth the top and chill for 20 minutes so that it firms. Serve with oatcakes, crackers or cucumber slices, and a wedge of lemon. A spoonful of horseradish stirred in gives the pate a little heat.

Serving Ideas

Toast · Oatcakes · Cucumber slices · Dry white wine

If You're Missing Something

• In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.

Smoked Salmon Pate FAQ

Smoked Salmon Pate Nutrition Facts

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.

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