Smoked Trout Pâté, for Party or Picnic
Denise Landis is the founder & CEO of The Cook's Cook.
Smoked trout pâté takes only minutes to prepare and is an easy, elegant appetizer that goes equally well with breakfast, champagne, or a picnic lunch.
Smoked trout fillets are not hard to find in specialty food stores and even many supermarkets. They are usually sold with the skin, which is easily peeled off. To dress up the pâté, garnish the serving bowl with fresh herbs or small edible flowers. Serve with crusty bread, pita chips, or crackers. Note the wine pairings at the end of the recipe, which will help with your planning.
Ingredients
- 227 grams (8 ounces) cream cheese
- 79 ml (1/3 cup) sour cream
- 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 454 grams (1 pound) skinless, boneless smoked trout fillets
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped dill
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) finely chopped scallions (green part only)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
Preparation
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, and Tabasco sauce. Process until very smooth. Set aside about one fourth of the trout fillets and add the remainder to the cream cheese mixture. Process again until almost smooth.
2. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the scallions, parsley, and dill. Break the reserved trout into small chunks and stir into the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for up to two days before serving. Serve chilled with toasted pita bread, crackers, or thin slices of toasted bread.
WINE PAIRINGS by J.D. Landis: Manzanilla, Bianco di Custoza (still or spumante), Riesling (Kabinett)
Denise Landis
Denise Landis had been employed as an archeologist for seven years before a food editor hired her to test some recipes from a cookbook manuscript. This short stint led to longer assignments, and two years later she began testing recipes for the New York Times. She has been a professional recipe tester and editor for over 25 years, is the author of a New York Times cookbook, and has written for numerous publications. She is a member of the New York Chapter of Les Dames d’ Escoffier.
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