SMOKED SALMON PATE WITH PARSLEY BUTTER

Steps:

• Chop the smoked salmon, removing all hard pieces, bones etc. Pound in a mortar or process in a blender till smooth, then add the butter cut in small pieces. The butter should be cool and firm, but not too hard.
• When all is amalgamated into a smooth paste, add the cream, plenty of freshly ground black pepper, cayenne and lemon juice to taste.
• Turn into a small dish and chill for several hours.
• (I don't have quantities for the parsley butter as it depends on how much you want to make!) Take as much butter as you think you'll need for the crackers/bread and a representative amount of fresh parsley and mix them together. Pop it in a serving dish and return to the fridge for an hour or so to reset properly.
• I tend to then scoop it out in to little balls, which wastes some of the butter, but looks pretty!
• If you've made too much butter you can save it for another day and use it as a normal butter spread, but bare in mind that the parsley flavour increases in strength (which I like!) the longer you leave it. I've left the butter for 3 weeks before using again and it was still perfect.
• Serve the pate and butter garnished with a sprig of parsley or perhaps a curl of smoked salmon, and with hot toast/malba toast/french bread.