This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
It is meant to be picnic time but the weather is not playing ball. However, being British, we will power on and whether it is wet or dry, warm or cold there are a few events at this time of year that require alfresco dining.
I recently saw this recipe in The Lady magazine by Katy Holder from her book, A Moveable Feast. I tried it out on my OH as he loves smoked salmon. As I am sitting by my mother who is in her hospital bed for as many hours as I can, I thought that if this was in the fridge he could at least have a snack whilst waiting for me to return. The good news is that he loved it and the bad news is that there was none left for me!
Smoked Salmon & Roasted Red Pepper Pate
Ingredients
1 small red pepper, halved & deseeded (or 50g bought chargrilled peppers, drained)
200g smoked salmon
200g cream cheese
100g sour cream
4 tbsp dill, finely chopped
3 – 4 tbsp lemon juice
8 thin slices wholemeal bread.
How to prepare
Preheat grill to high. Squash the halves of peppers to flatten them, then put them under the hot grill, skin side up. Grill until the skin is blackened. Transfer pepper to plastic bag, seal and leave for 15 mins. Peel off the skin and finely dice the pepper.
Put the salmon, cream cheese, sour cream, dill and 3 tbsp lemon juice into the bowl of a food processor and blend for about 20 seconds. Taste then season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and add 1 tbsp lemon juice if needed. The either add the diced pepper and blend for 10 seconds or transfer the pate to a bowl and stir in the diced peppers. Put the mixture into the fridge for about 30 minutes to allow it to firm up slightly.
Heat the oven to 200C and put a baking sheet into the oven to heat up. Remove the crusts from the bread, then roll out thinly using a rolling-pin. Cut each slice into 4 triangles. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the toast is golden brown and crisp. Set aside to cool.
Store in an airtight container. Serve with the pate when ready to eat! You will impress other picnickers!