Smoked Salmon Pâté

Smoked salmon pâté is perfect if you are looking for a seriously easy dish for lots of occasions.

With just a few ingredients you will have a creamy pâté that you can make in advance, so if you want a great starter, a buffet dish or just a quick tasty snack, this recipe is perfect.

Serve in individual portions, in a bowl or use a mould to serve in slices. It's all really simple to do.

Enjoy!

Sometimes I like to serve a starter, but I don't want it to take over the whole meal, where everyone is full before they get to the main course! This is especially true at Christmas.

This is where this recipe is perfect. You can serve small portions with bread or toast, which is not too heavy but delicious enough to satisfy.

I love smoked salmon and could eat it every day but for this dish you don't need a pack of sliced salmon. Nowadays, you can often buy smoked salmon scraps, at a fraction of the cost, so this starter need not break the bank!

The best bit for me is that this dish takes just a few minutes to make, then it can sit in the fridge for a few days until I'm ready to serve.

Jump to:

• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Storage
• FAQs
• More salmon recipes
• Recent recipes
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

• Smoked salmon - for this recipe a pack of trimmings is perfect. If you are using smoked salmon in other dishes then keep the scraps in a pot in the freezer, ready to make this at Christmas or new year.
• Butter - ideally unsalted as the smoked salmon ifs often salty enough.
• Pepper - freshly ground black pepper.
• Lemon - fresh lemon juice and zest.
• Cream - double or single cream.
• Chives - these add an extra mild onion flavour.

See recipe card for quantities.

🍽 Equipment

• Food processor or blender
• Spatula
• Small saucepan

🔪 Instructions

Rough chop the salmon, if not already in pieces and place it in a food processor bowl. Use a small bowl if you have it.

Melt the butter in a saucepan or place in a microwaveable bowl and heat for 1 minute on full power.

Mix the cream with the lemon juice and zest and add to the bowl with the pepper.

Blend until quite smooth.

Finely chop the chives and stir into the mixture. Reserve 2 teaspoons for a garnish.

Check the seasoning and then use a spatula to scrape into individual bowls.

Refrigerate to set for about 10 minutes.

Bring the pate to room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

🥗 Serve with

Garnish with lemon or cucumber slices and watercress.

• Crusty bread
• Toast
• Crackers
• Bread sticks
• Fougasse bread

Substitutions

• Cream - use cream cheese or crème fraîche.

Variations

• Herbs - swap the chives for tarragon, dill or parsley for a different flavour.
• Salmon - try using small cooked prawns or crabmeat instead.

Storage

This dish will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Freeze and use within 1 month if you used fresh salmon.

FAQs

More salmon recipes

• Baked lemon side of salmon
• Smoked salmon canapés
• Smoked salmon mousse
• Salmon timbales
• Salmon and avocado parcels
• Honey and garlic salmon

Recent recipes

📋 Recipe

Food Safety

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended.
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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