Smoked mackerel pâté
10 min · 10 g protein · 131 cals / serving
A smoky, peppery mackerel pâté whipped with quark, horseradish, lemon and dill until it is light and spreadable, served the British way with crisp cucumber, radishes and rye crispbread. Ready in ten minutes and good on everything.
Ingredients
Pâté
- 2 small fillets (130 g) smoked mackerel, skin removed
- 250 g quark
- 1 tbsp horseradish, hot horseradish sauce or grated horseradish
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 lemon lemon zest, finely grated
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- a few sprigs fresh dill, chopped
- a few fresh chives, snipped
To serve
Steps
- Flake the mackerel into a bowl, checking for bones. Add the quark, horseradish, lemon juice and zest and the pepper. Mash with a fork for a rough, flaky pâté, or pulse briefly in a food processor for a smooth one.
- Fold in the dill and chives, taste and add more horseradish or lemon if you like. Chill for 15 minutes if you have time, so the flavours settle.
- Spoon into a bowl, grind over more pepper and serve with the cucumber, radishes, crispbread and lemon wedges.
Good to know
Why quark?
Quark is thick and mild, so it whips with the mackerel into a light, creamy pâté and lets the smoky fish come through. Full-fat cream cheese or butter make it richer but heavier: with cream cheese, a score of about 40 instead of 71.
Peppered mackerel?
Peppered smoked mackerel works very well; leave out the black pepper and taste before adding more horseradish.
How long does it keep?
Covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. It is also good spread on wholemeal toast or stuffed into a baked potato.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 72
- Protein
- (31%)
- 5 g
- Fat
- (39%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (30%)
- 6 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 120 mg
More snacks
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 789 kcal goes into the pot and 1103 g of ingredients comes out as about 1100 g of food: 72 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.