Easy smoked mackerel pate - recipe

Merry Christmas all.  Hope Father Christmas brought you everything you wanted and you enjoyed some quality time with friends, family and several boxes of mince pies.

With the festive season not quite over yet (phew!), lots of people this year seem to be planning to celebrate New Year's Eve with a party at home.  So, for those of you who need some ideas for nibbles or a buffet, I thought I'd share my smoked mackerel pate recipe.

This couldn't be easier; it's ready in about two minutes and tastes delicious.  Ideal served with crusty bread for a starter, on mini crackers as a canape, or with crudites for a buffet.

Ingredients:
1 packet smoked mackerel fillets
1 tablespoon soured cream**
1 tablespoon double cream
1 dessert spoon creamed horseradish (from a jar)
Juice of half a lemon
Black pepper to season

Method:
Remove the skins from the smoked mackerel fillets.  These peel off really easily.

Put mackerel, soured cream, double cream and horseradish into a blender.  Blitz for 30 seconds to a minute - the consistency is up to you but I prefer mine with a little bit of texture, not completely smooth.

Taste and add lemon juice and pepper as required.

The pate will keep for a couple of days covered in the fridge, so you make well in advance of your party.

*If you have any spring onions or parsley that need using up, you can add them when you blend the ingredients.

**This recipe is fairly foolproof and you don't need to be exact with ingredients.  If you prefer you could use Greek yoghurt instead of sour cream.