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.

Oysters with Japanese dressing - recipe

They might not be very traditional but I think oysters make the perfect starter over Christmas.  When you're eating so much rich food, oysters provide a welcome change.  Not only that but they're surprisingly affordable (around 70p per oyster) and most fishmongers will even open them for you - so very little effort is required.

You can serve them au natural with just a squeeze of lemon, or with a simple shallot and red wine vinegar dressing, or if you fancy, you can add a few more flavours.

One of my favourites is a Japanese twist.  I made these yesterday for Marc with a dressing made of soy sauce, sushi vinegar and grated ginger.  I also topped them with a touch of very finely chopped cucumber and spring onion and a little dot of wasabi.  Perfection.

A couple of months ago, we went to an oyster tasting event at Wrights Bros, Soho.  Have a look here for some more oyster inspiration.

Oysters with Japanese dressing

Canapés from the East at Hashi Cooking

One of the best things about Christmas is party food (also known as canapés!).  I love drooling over the supermarket ads showcasing their festive offerings but have to admit that, if you can find the time, homemade canapés always taste better.


With my love of the bite-sized treat, the Canapes from the East class at Hashi Cooking sounded like the perfect pre-Christmas night out.


The class is just one evening, during which you learn how to make six different Asian canapés.  Reiko demonstrates first, then you get the chance to make them yourself.  Most importantly, you get to enjoy them all with a glass of fizz at the end!


My three favourites are below.  You also take away all the recipes, making it easy to recreate them at home.  Hope they give you some festive inspiration.

Watercress, calamari and prawn tempura

Little gem lettuce with chestnuts and sweetcorn

Prawn noodle salad with sesame dressing

Best Christmas presents for foodie friends #7 - cookery courses

One of the best things I've done this year is Japanese cookery lessons at Hashi Cooking.  I think a cookery course is an ideal present for any foodie friends or family.

The added bonus is that they can try out their new skills on you!

Here's my top three suggestions:

Billingsgate Seafood School
They offer a variety of different one and half day courses, some of which include a guided tour of the World famous fish market.

The Ginger Pig Butchery classes
Not one I'd be keen to do (due to my non-meat eating ways!) but I've heard good things about these classes.  Maybe one for the man in your life?

Hashi Cooking
I think the one day sushi/sashimi making class would make a great present.




Best Christmas presents for foodie friends:

#1 For Japanese food lovers:

Hashi: A Japanese Cookery Course

#2  For those who like an unusual tipple:

Violet liqueur

#3  For those who like the finer things in life:

White Alba truffle

#4 For the chilli-heads:

Chilli presents

#5 For pizza addicts

Pizza stone

#6 For cheese chompers
Slate cheese board