Mackerel Pate with Pitta Chips & Cucumber
By OcadoLife
Published on 08 December 2021
This speedy recipe can be both made and eaten by kids. Recipe author Claire Thomson (Five O’Clock Apron) says: “My children all love to eat mackerel pâté. And, what I think they like about it most is that they can make it by themselves. With a little help from me (melting the butter), the rest of the recipe is entirely down to them, flaking and mashing the fish into the flavoured butter and cream cheese all spiked with mace, lemon and cayenne. The kids like it best with warm pitta chips and a sturdy set of cucumber batons to swoosh through the pâté.”Time and servings
10 minsTotal time
6Servings
10 minsPrep time
Ingredients
- 300 g of cooked mackerel fillets
- 150 g of cream cheese
- 4 wholemeal pitta breads
- 50 g of unsalted butter
- 0.5 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1 tbsp of dried oregano
- 0.5 tsp of ground mace
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp of parsley
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 0.5 tsp of cayenne chilli pepper
- 2 cucumbers, cut into batons
Method
Step 1
Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Grown-ups melt the butter in a pan with the mace, cayenne, thyme leaves and lemon zest. Set aside for the flavours to infuse.Step 2
Show little ones how to remove the skin and any bigger bones in the mackerel fillets. Get them to pull the mackerel off in nice chunks, place in a bowl and use their fingers to shred the fish.Step 3
Add the cream cheese in dollops and mash with a fork. Squeeze in the lemon juice (mind the pips!), and add a pinch of salt and a big grind of black pepper.Step 4
Pour the butter into the mackerel bowl followed by the herbs and beat with a wooden spoon.Step 5
Transfer into a serving dish or large jar. Sprinkle more black pepper or cayenne over, if you like. Pop in the fridge for 30 mins to firm up (if you want, it will keep here for up to three days).Step 6
Meanwhile, make the pitta chips: grown-ups toast the pittas. Leave to cool before opening the pitta and separating into two halves with a knife.Step 7
Roughly chop the halves into smaller triangles – tortilla chip size.Step 8
Get the kids to spread the triangles out on a large baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, before you pop them in the oven for 8-12 mins, until crisp.Step 9
Transfer onto a plate and sprinkle over the oregano and a pinch of salt. Serve with the pâté and cucumber batons.