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blowin · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:23 am Post subject: mackerel pate

A very good way to preserve mackerel which has just begun to go soft and so would not be the best for freezing . Thanks to Annie for the recipe , it is the kind I understand Very Happy

. It goes a bit like this :
Fillet mackerel then fry in light oil with plenty of lemon juice and salt sprinkled during the process . Cook the flesh side of the fillet to a light golden brown without drying it all out . Remove the remaining bones , which will be a single row down the fish's lateral line ( along its side , from V of tail to back of gills ), if you did the filleting properly .
Remove skin and if you don't like strong fish you can remove the dark strip of flesh which also runs along the lateral line where the bones are . Roughly flake the ( mainly white ) flesh .
Finely chop , lightly brown then sweat onion in a saucepan . Add salt , pepper , tomato puree ,paprica and butter . Add even more butter and grated cheese . ( Edam was recommended but I ended up with Supervalue's finest chewy red stuff ) . Add the fish , mix and gently warm it through .
Then blend it all together . I used an electric gimo which mashed up most of it but left some flakes , which gave a nice texture . Not in the recipe but I added extra virgin olive oil as a lubricant when the stuff in the bowl got too thick for the mixer to turn ( I guess the butter was setting ) .
Press the mixture into plastic containers . Smooth the surface then pour on melted butter to seal and glaze . Decorate with a slice of lemon and freeze . ( The lemon was my idea , not so sure it was a good one tho' ) .
I thought it tasted great even tho' I am not usually a fish-eater .
It took a very long time to prepare but that is because I am really fussy about bones .

MrsL · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:39 am Post subject:

That sounds lovely, must give it (or a close approximation!) a go.
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blowin · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:32 am Post subject:

Definitely to be recommended Wink

. Apparently it also works well with tinned mackerel if you want to take the hassle out of it . Refrigerate in small dishes then serve as individual portion "starters" with very thin crispy toast and a few edible flowers or small salad leaves on the side . Nice presentation . Don't need much because it is very filling Wink

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