A watercolour of coarse pale brown fish pate heaped on round oatcakes with a wedge of lemon
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Adapted from Smoked mackerel pate

Mackerel pate on oatcakes

An established dish converted to shelf-stable ingredients. Every substitution is documented below.

How long it keeps

About 3 months, set by Mayonnaise.

Indicative, for planning a build before you buy. The answer for a pack you already own is the best before date printed on it, and that only holds if it has been stored as the label says.

Serves
2
Burners
0
Pans
0
Water
0.05 L
Active
8 min
Total
8 min

Ingredients

Eight minutes, no heat, and it is the best thing you can do with a tin of mackerel and a packet of oatcakes.

Drain the oil but not completely. A spoonful of it back in the bowl carries flavour that plain mayonnaise does not have. Pour the rest away.

  1. Mackerel into a bowl. Mash with a fork, but stop early: you want flakes and some texture, not paste. About fifteen seconds of work.
  2. Mayonnaise, lemon juice and paprika folded through. Fold rather than beat.
  3. Pepper, then taste. It will probably want more lemon than you expect, because the oil and the mayonnaise are both rich and the acid is the only thing cutting them.

Better after ten minutes standing, if you have them.

Oatcakes rather than crackers, because they are sturdier and the oats stand up to something this rich. Cream crackers work and go soft faster once loaded.

Serves 2 generously as lunch.

What this was adapted from

Smoked mackerel pate: soft cheese or creme fraiche, mackerel, lemon and pepper, mashed together

  • cream cheese or creme fraiche → mayonnaise

    The dairy is doing richness and binding. Mayonnaise is emulsified oil and does both, keeps in a cupboard, and is already seasoned. It is sharper than cream cheese and less thick, so the pate is looser and needs less lemon than the original.

  • smoked mackerel fillets → tinned mackerel in oil

    Smoke is the difference and there is no cupboard substitute for it. A pinch of smoked paprika gets at the colour and a hint of the aroma without pretending to be smoked fish.