BBC iD

Sign in

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC

Arbroath smokie pâté with soft quails’ eggs and beetroot

A deliciously simple pâté you can make in advance. If storing it overnight, cover the surface with a thin layer of melted butter when it’s in the pot. The dressing will keep for a month in the fridge.

Ingredients

For the pâté
For the dressing
For the salad
  • mixed leaves (baby red chard, lamb’s tongue, watercress, little gem)

  • 2 quails’ eggs, soft-boiled and peeled

  • 300g/10½oz cooked beetroot, sliced

  • fresh chervil leaves, to garnish

Preparation method

  1. For the pâté, remove the flesh from the fish, discarding all the skin and bones, and place into a blender. Add the lemon juice and blend quickly with the cream to a slightly coarse pâté. Transfer the pâté from the blender to a bowl, add the chives and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon the pâté into a pot, smooth over the surface and place in the fridge.

  2. To make the dressing, place both the vinegars in a bowl. Whisk in 225ml/8fl oz of the olive oil then check the flavour for balance of oil and acidity, adding more oil if needed.

  3. Shape the pâté into quenelles. Dress the salad leaves with a little of the vinaigrette and cut the eggs in half. Place the beetroot in overlapping circles on a plate, place the salad leaves on top of the beetroot, top with the pâté and the egg and garnish with a few chervil leaves. Serve with slices of warm Melba toast.

30 mins to 1 hour preparation time

No cooking required cooking time

Serves 4

3 people have recommended this recipe

Sign in to recommend

Quick recipe finder

Type the ingredients you want to use, then click Go. For better results you can use quotation marks around phrases (e.g. "chicken breast"). Alternatively you can search by chef, programme, cuisine, diet, or dish (e.g. Lasagne).

Advanced search options

BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.