The Twelve Recipes of Christmas

Dawn: (Singing) On the eighth day of Christmas,

My true Love Food sent to me

Eight maids a-milking…

Andrew: I’m getting quite used to this now!

Dawn: Excellent! I’d hate for you not to be getting into the swing of things!

Andrew: So, eight maids a-milking and what of the Twelve Recipes of Christmas are they bringing, do tell?

Dawn: All will be revealed!

Drum roll, curtains lift to reveal…

Dawn: A deliciously simple smoked mackerel pate recipe…so simple…it’s utterly delish!

Ingredients

Serves 4

400g Smoked mackerel fillets (boneless)

200g soft cheese (low fat version)

1 and a half lemons, freshly squeezed (or bottled juice)

1 anchovy fillet

Salt and pepper to season

Method

• Remove the skin from the smoked mackerel fillets and any bones that you can see.
• Put the smoked mackerel, soft cheese, anchovy fillet and lemon juice into a food processor and blitz until the ingreiients are combined.
• Taste and season. Blitz quickly to mix the seasonings into the mixture.
• Pot up into four ramekins and serve either with crispbreads, toast or a salad.

Andrew: That is simple – and mmm…delicious (reaches for a second pot of smoked mackerel pate)

Dawn: Thanks. It was a concoction I created wanting something different than turkey at this special time of year.

Andrew: This certainly tastes very special, indeed.

Dawn: And mackerel is packed full of those lovely omega-3 oils that are so good for our metabolism, wellbeing and general health. 

Andrew: Here’s to celebrating this Christmas season with deliciously simple food and drinks that are good for us.

Dawn: I’ll drink to that (clinks glasses of tasty treats yet to come on this blog!)

For more in this series of festively inspired food ideas, then follow this blog here and keep up-to-date on Twitter. Facebook and Mumsnet are websites you’ll find us on, too – so keep looking for tasty recipes coming!