Smoked trout pâté with rye toast and lemon

Serves - 4 as a starter or nibble

You’ll need

• 200g smoked trout fillets, skin removed
• 150g crème fraîche
• 100g cream cheese
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Small handful chives, finely chopped
• Small handful dill, finely chopped
• Black pepper

To serve
• 4 slices rye bread, or more if needed
• Olive oil or butter, for the toast
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• A little extra dill or chives, to finish

Method

1. Make the pâté base

Put the smoked trout into a bowl with the crème fraîche, cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, Dijon mustard, most of the chives, most of the dill and a good grind of black pepper. Flake and mix everything together with a fork until you have a soft, spreadable pâté. You want a bit of texture left in it, not something whipped into complete uniformity.

2. Taste and adjust

Give it a taste and add a little more lemon juice or black pepper if needed. Go carefully with salt, if at all – the trout is usually doing plenty of that work already.

3. Let it settle

If you have time, chill the pâté for 20–30 minutes before serving. It is not essential, but it does help the flavours come together and makes the whole thing feel a bit more composed.

4. Toast the rye bread

Toast the rye bread until crisp at the edges but still with a little give in the middle. Brush lightly with olive oil or spread with a little butter while still warm if you like. Rye is very good at bringing a bit of backbone to something rich and smoky.

5. Serve

Spoon the pâté into a bowl or onto a plate and finish with the remaining herbs and an extra little twist of black pepper. Serve with the rye toast and lemon wedges alongside, so everyone can add a final squeeze if they fancy sharpening things up.

A couple of helpful notes
- If you want a slightly smoother pâté, blitz half the mixture and fold it back through the rest rather than blending the whole lot.
- A little grated horseradish stirred through would work very nicely if you want a sharper edge.
- This is very good with cucumber on the side, or a few pickles if you want to make it feel even more lunch-worthy.