Everybody needs a quick, delicious and cheap Dinner Party recipe up their sleeve!

Kipper Pate does not sound the most inspiring of things, but believe me when I say this is quite marvellous and will get you many compliments. And currently costing between £1 and £2 for a single good quality loose kipper from the fish counter in your local supermarket, will give you the extra satisfaction of not spending a fortune when feeding your guests! This recipe will do two fairly huge portions, as in the photo, but will easily do four more elegantly sized ones more akin to a restaurant serving.

INGREDIENTS

1 whole loose traditionally smoked kipper

2oz of soft, room temperature unsalted butter

Juice of 1/4 lemon

Pinch of cayenne pepper

METHOD

Place kipper in a china dish and pour boiling water over it to cover, and put in a warm oven around 120C for up to 10 minutes. Check half way to see if it is cooked, otherwise leave another 5 minutes or so until it is easily flaking from the bones. All kippers are smoked differently and some will cook quicker than others.

Take out when done, drain and leave to cool until you can handle it. Carefully pick off all the bones and skin and put in a food processor or a large mortar. Pound until well broken up, then check again for any stray bones. Add all the other ingredients and process or pound again until well emulsified and smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust if you want. You shouldn’t have to add any salt as usually the mixture is quite salty enough.

Pack into ramekins or whatever you like. You could even hollow out some very ripe tomatoes and use that!

Chill in the fridge. This will keep for several days, so can be made well in advance!

Serve with warm brown toast, preferably from homemade bread as in my previous recipe!

https://arabellasambrosia.blog/2017/03/29/baking-bread-in-the-aga/

You could also use Smoked Mackerel, Buckling or Bloaters