Smoked Mackerel Pâté with Rye Crackers

This pâté has a lovely green colour from the watercress, but parsley would make a good alternative.

Hands-on time 30min, plus cooling. Cooking time 35min.
Serves 6

FOR THE RYE CRACKERS

100g wholemeal rye flour

100g plain flour, plus extra to dust

1 medium egg

FOR THE PÂTÉ

100g butter

160g watercress

150g smoked mackerel fillets, skinned

250g Greek-style yogurt

Finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon

1 Preheat oven to 160°C (140°C fan) mark 3 and line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment. For the crackers, in a large bowl mix the rye and plain flours with 1⁄2tsp fine salt. Make a well in the centre. In a jug, whisk the egg and 75ml water, until combined. Pour into the flour well, stirring constantly until the dough comes together.

2 Tip on to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5min, until you have a smooth dough. Re-flour the surface, then roll out dough as thinly as possible (about 1mm), to a rough rectangle about 24 x 32cm.

3 Trim edges to neaten, then slice into 12 equal rectangles. Transfer to the lined baking sheets, spacing a little apart. Bake for 25min. Carefully remove sheets from oven and flip each cracker over. Return to oven for 10min more. Set aside to cool.

4 Meanwhile, for the pâté, melt the butter in a small pan. Set aside to cool. Put the watercress in a food processor (see GH Tip if you don’t have a processor) and whizz until finely chopped. Add the skinned mackerel fillets, yogurt, most of the lemon zest (reserve some for garnish), the lemon juice, cooled butter and plenty of seasoning. Whizz until fairly smooth and combined. Spoon into 6 individual ramekins or small bowls and spread to level. Chill until ready to serve.

5 To serve, sprinkle over the remaining lemon zest and some freshly ground black pepper. Serve with the rye crackers.

PER SERVING (with 2 crackers) 396cals, 13g protein, 26g fat (13g saturates), 27g carbs (2g total sugars), 4g fibre

GET AHEAD Once cool, store crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Make pâté to end of step 4 up to a day ahead. Cover and chill.