Smoked Salmon Dill Lemon Paté Food

SMOKED SALMON, DILL & LEMON PATé

Steps:

• If you aren't using smoked salmon trimmings then chop the salmon into small pieces. Tip the soft cheese, crème fraîche (if using) and lemon juice into a food processor, season generously with black pepper and blitz to your liking. Add the smoked salmon and pulse a few times if you want the paté chunky or blitz some more if you want the paté smooth and pink.
• Stir the herbs into the paté and spoon into a large or four smaller bowls and serve with warm toast as a starter or with breadsticks as a dip.

BEAUTIFUL LAYERED SMOKED SALMON & MACKEREL PATE

Steps:

• Line a 2lb loaf tin with clingfilm. Cover the base & sides of the tin (but not the ends) with the smoked salmon so that the pieces just about overlap.
• In a food processor, mix the roast salmon slices, tomato ketchup, dill & half of each of the following: butter, soft cheese, cayenne, lemon zest & lemon juice. Spoon into the tin, level the top & chill. (don't wash out the processor just yet!).
• Skin the smoked mackerel & carefully remove any bones with tweezers or your fingers. Whizz in the food processor with the horseradish & the other half of the butter, cream cheese, cayenne, lemon zest & lemon juice. Spoon over the top of the salmon pate & level the top. Fold over the overlapping salmon. Cover with clingfil & chill for at least 2 hours (but preferably overnight).
• To serve, carefully invert the tin onto a suitable plate & using a sharp knife (clean knife between each slice to get perfect neat slices) cut the pate into 10 slices.
• Serve each slice on a plate with a few salad leaves & a slice of toast cut into triangles along with a wedge or two of lemon.

THE ARK RESTAURANT SMOKED SALMON PATE'

Steps:

• Watercress Sauce:.
• In food processor, puree watercress, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth.
• With machine running, add oil drop by drop as mixture thickens.
• Add lemon juice, then add sour cream.
• Set aside to chill while preparing pate.
• Pate:.
• Butter a 3 1/2" X 11 1/2" X 2 1/2" terrine (or glass bread pan)and line it with buttered parchment paper (butter side up).
• Rinse 2-3 sprigs of watercress (for decoration) and lay on a paper towel to dry.
• Blanch remaining watercress in boiling water for 15 seconds, plunge into ice water. Drain and squeeze dry.
• Preheat oven to 250°F.
• In food processor, add onion, smoked salmon, salmon fillets (cut into 1" pieces), dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Process until mixture forms a fine paste.
• With machine running on low, slowly add heavy cream. Add eggs, one at a time; process an additional 30 seconds.
• Remove 3/4 of the mixture to a bowl.
• To the remaining 1/4 mixture, add blanched watercress, and mix by cutting through the mixture with a knife. (Mixture will not be uniform in color).
• Put one half of the reserved (no watercress) mixture into the terrine. Cut through it several times with a knife, and then bang it on the counter to settle it.
• Place the watercress-salmon mixture down the middle of the pate in the terrine, distributing as evenly as possible.
• Add the rest of the salmon mixture. Bang it twice to settle it.
• Cover with a piece of buttered parchment paper. Bake in a water bath for 15 minutes at 250°F Turn heat down to 225°F and bake an additional 25 minutes.
• Pate will be firm, but not hard.
• Wait at least 5 minutes and unmold onto a serving plate. Decorate the top of the pate with reserved watercress.
• Serve thin slices with watercress sauce laced diagonally across.