snacks and small plates

Seafood scotch eggs

A proper picnic isn't complete without a scotch egg, and these prawn and smoked fish ones taste so good, you'll want to go on a picnic every day. This isn't the quickest of recipes to make, but the end result is well worth it.

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1 tbsp olive oil
2 banana (large) shallots, or 4 standard shallots, peeled and finely chopped
6 eggs, at room temperature
200g/7 oz cooked small Atlantic prawns
250g/9 oz smoked cod or haddock, skinned
1 tbsp chopped dill
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
pinch of cayenne pepper
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
100g/3½ oz plain
flour 2 eggs, beaten
150g/5½ oz dried breadcrumbs, ideally panko
approx. 1 litre/1¾ pints/4 cups sunflower oil
flaked sea salt

Time taken 1 hour 10 minutes, plus 1 hour chilling

Serves 6

Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently sauté the shallots until they have softened but not coloured. Tip into a food processor and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil then add the eggs, ensuring they are fully covered in the boiling water. Boil the eggs for 6 minutes, then remove and put them in a bowl of iced water to stop them cooking further.

Add the prawns, smoked fish, dill, lemon zest, spices and a pinch of salt to the shallots. Blend until you have a coarse paste.

Peel the eggs and roll each one in flour. Divide the seafood mixture into six and, with floured hands, roll each portion into a ball then flatten into a disc. Put a disc into the palm of your hand, then place a floured egg on top of the seafood disc. Wrap the mixture around the egg, so it is evenly covered. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

Line up the remaining flour, the beaten eggs and the breadcrumbs in separate bowls and coat each of the seafood-coated eggs in flour, then egg, and finish by coating in breadcrumbs. Chill in the fridge for about 1 hour.

Fill a deep, heavy-based pan or wok three-quarters full with sunflower oil, then heat to 180ºC/350ºF, or until a cube of bread turns golden brown in 30–40 seconds. Deep-fry the eggs, two at a time, for 5–6 minutes, until deep golden. You may need to turn them to brown evenly. Drain on kitchen paper while you cook the rest.

Serve the scotch eggs hot or leave to cool, chill in the fridge and serve cold.

Flexible

To make a fish-free coating, sauté 1 chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend with 400g/14 oz tinned chickpeas, drained, ½ a teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, a small handful of chopped coriander, and salt and pepper, until you have a thick paste. Use this to coat the eggs before rolling in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs.

Hot smoked salmon pâté

with pickled fennel and radish salad

This dish is all prepared in advance, making it an ideal dinner party starter. Every little helps when it comes to cutting down on last-minute cooking! The crunchy pickled salad is the perfect partner for the rich, creamy pâté. I like to use hot-smoked salmon or smoked trout, as they're not too strong in flavour. However, you could quite easily switch to smoked mackerel for a more richly flavoured pâté.

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For the pâté

400g/14 oz hot-smoked salmon
grated zest and juice of ½ lemon
100g/3½ oz cream cheese
100g/3½ oz Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp creamed horseradish
flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the salad

200ml/7 fl oz/scant 1 cup white wine vinegar
50g/1¾ oz caster sugar
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp black peppercorns
1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced
100g/3½ oz radishes, finely sliced
½ red onion, peeled and finely sliced

To serve

few fresh dill sprigs
grated zest of 1 lemon
toasted bread – rye or sourdough are particularly nice

Time taken 30 minutes, plus at least 2 hours pickling

Serves 6

To make the pickled salad, put the vinegar, caster sugar, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and peppercorns into a small saucepan. Place over a medium–high heat and stir the pickling liquor until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a gentle simmer, and simmer for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Put the fennel, radish and red onion in a bowl and strain the pickling liquor over the top, removing the seeds and peppercorns. Leave the vegetables to pickle in the fridge for at least 2 hours. If you want to prepare this ahead of time, you can leave it overnight.

To make the pâté, remove the skin from the salmon and flake into a food processor. Add the lemon juice and briefly blitz. Add the cream cheese, yoghurt, horseradish and lemon zest and season with a little salt and a good twist of black pepper. Blitz until smooth.

Divide the pâté between ramekins or similar-sized dishes and smooth over the surface of each one with a palette knife. If you're not serving the pâté straight away, cover with clingfilm and keep it in the fridge.

To serve, put the pâté dishes on to plates. Garnish with a twist of pepper, a few fronds of dill and a scattering of lemon zest. Using a slotted spoon, serve some pickled salad on the side and finish by serving with toasted rye or sourdough bread.

Flexible

You can transform this into a Smoked Mushroom Pâté. Thickly slice 250g/9 oz portobello or chestnut mushrooms. Brush generously with olive oil and sprinkle or rub over 1 teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika, and sea salt. Fry for 1–2 minutes on each side, until golden. Leave to cool, then blitz with the lemon juice and continue as above. You could switch the horseradish for Dijon mustard or even onion marmalade.

Taramasalata

with tomato and olive salsa

If you've only ever had the bright pink, shop-bought taramasalata then I urge you to give this recipe a try. It's unbelievably delicious, with a subtle smoked fish flavour and rich creamy texture. Once you've made this you'll find it hard to go back!

Serve as a dip or spread on toasted pitta bread, and top with the delicious salsa. Once made, it will last up to a week in the fridge.

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75g/2¾ oz dry, crustless white bread
200g/7 oz smoked cod's roe
½ small white onion, peeled
200ml/7 fl oz/scant 1 cup olive oil
3–4 tbsp lemon juice
flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
pitta bread, serve

For the salsa

4 ripe tomatoes
approx. 20 black Kalamata olives, pitted
1 tbsp chopped dill or parsley
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Time taken 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes chilling

Serves 8

Put the bread in a dish and just cover in water to saturate. Squeeze out any excess water and put the bread in...