I shouldn’t really be calling this a pate. For a start it’s incredibly nutritious and low fat and we all know that pate well, isn’t. As much as I love rich, meaty pates, rillets and the like, sometimes, I crave something a bit lighter. This is probably one of only a handful of meals that we eat regularly. Being so obsessed with food and cooking means that we don’t often eat the same thing twice from week to week. This is a favourite because it’s fast, super healthy and totally delicious.

I’ve made two flavours here, a smoked mackerel and a hot smoked salmon. The flaked fish is simply mixed with some natural yoghurt, capers, spring onions, herbs and a squeeze of lemon. If you are in the mood for something a little richer, just use crème fraiche in place of the yoghurt, it’s really good.

I used dill in these fishy pots today but I have used tarragon in the past, which makes a nice variation. The combinations are endless really. You could add some finely chopped cornichons for example, a spoonful of horseradish, some wholegrain mustard………

We like to eat the pate with some toasted sunflower seed bread – it has a great texture and contains rye flour which stands up well to the mackerel. Perfect with a green side salad and pickles.

Smoked Fish Pate

Smoked mackerel fillets
Hot smoked salmon fillets
Dill, chopped (or tarragon or other herbs)
Pepper
Lemon juice
Spring onions, finely chopped
Capers
Natural yoghurt or crème fraiche
Bread, to serve

-Flake the fish in separate bowls and add capers, spring onions, dill, a good grind of pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Some of the lemon zest is nice too.
-Mix everything together and then add enough yoghurt to bind it together.
-Serve in ramekins with hot toast.

I’ve been using this smoked Maldon sea salt in everything recently. The smoky flavour is just right, strong without being overpowering. I wanted to make some crackers but not fat laden ones. I also wanted a robust flavour and some nutritional benefit so I mixed half stone ground wholemeal flour and half white plain flour. The extra virgin olive oil (Greek) also gives the crackers a nice grassy flavour and the combination of fennel seeds and the smoky salt is actually really really good. We ate the crackers with some houmous as a healthy snack (we’ll forget about the salt content…). I think next time I will experiment with different flours such as spelt, my new favourite ingredient (except smoked sea salt of course). I have some spelt spaghetti which is really good and a colleague has promised me her spelt bread recipe.

The first time I made these, I brushed the tops with beaten egg white. It seemed a bit unnecessary, so the second batch I didn’t bother and they were actually better, more golden on top. It’s a shame then that I didn’t roll the second batch thin enough and they weren’t quite crispy enough in the middle.The possible spice combinations for the crackers are endless, cumin, ras el hanout, smoked paprika. I really like seeds on there rather than ground spices, it’s just a bit more interesting. They would be nice dipped into sour cream too or tzatziki, baba ganoush, guacamole…moreish just doesn’t even cover it.

Smoked Sea Salt and Fennel Seed Crackers

(Makes approx 30 crackers)

4oz plain white flour
4oz wholemeal flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
35ml olive oil
Smoked salt (or regular)
Fennel seeds
Water

-Mix the flour, baking powder and fine salt in a bowl. Add the oil and then enough water for the dough to come together. It shouldn’t be too sticky.
-On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for around 5 minutes then cover and allow to rest (at room temp) for around 30 minutes.
-Roll out the dough as thin as you can manage without it tearing and cut into desired shapes.
-Sprinkle each cracker with smoked sea salt and fennel seeds to your taste.
-Transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake at 150C/300F/Gas2 for 20-30 minutes. The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your crackers but they are ready when golden brown and crispy. Allow to cool on a rack or stuff them into your face right away like I did.

(Edit: Before you put the crackers in the oven, make indents in the top with a fork to prevent them puffing).

We couldn’t believe how deeply satisfying this soup was, especially considering that it is so healthy. Something wonderful happens to red peppers when they are roasted. I love the way the skins turn blackened, charred and wrinkly while the flesh within is super sweet and soft. For this soup, I went full steam ahead with the roasting as I wanted a really intense flavour. I cooked the garlic, tomatoes, peppers and chilli in a high oven until everything was juicy sweet. The smell filling the house at this point was incredible. I added a little smoked paprika for an extra depth and it turned the soup into something really delicious. To cut through all that spice and smoke I crumbled some tangy feta into each bowl and combined some fresh chopped mint with extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on top. I also added some lemon thyme as I have a big bunch at the moment but it will be totally delicious without it.

Smoky and Spicy Red Pepper Soup Mint

3 red peppers, cut in half and de-seeded
6 tomatoes (I originally used 6 but I think 4-5 will do)
1-2 red chillies de-seeded and halved
5-6 fat cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
900ml vegetable stock
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

To Serve
2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to gas 7/220 C/425 F

-Put the peppers, tomatoes and garlic in a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for around half an hour or so until everything is starting to look charred and wrinkly.
-Add the chilli/s to the tray and roast for a further 20 minutes. Everything should be nicely roasted by now.
-Tease any skin away from the tomatoes and add to a pan along with the peppers and chillies. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their jackets and add these also.
-Add the stock and smoked paprika and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 25-30 minutes.
-Meanwhile, add the chopped mint to a bowl and loosen with a little extra virgin olive oil.
-When the soup is ready, transfer to a blender in batches until smooth. Check the seasoning.
-To serve, drizzle with the minty oil.

I’m on a diet. I don’t actually believe in dieting so I will just be watching the fat and sugar intake a bit more than usual for a couple of weeks. I wouldn’t want to do anything too drastic! So that is how I came to think about chicken for lean protein and grain salad for lunch boxes and side dishes. I’ve wanted to make this dukkah (pronounced doo-kah, an Egyptian mix) for around a year now and I only just got around to it. I’m so glad I did as it was stunning and I can’t wait to try it with goujons of fish, which I suspect may be even better. If you don’t want to shallow fry them (as you may be on a diet!), you can spray them with oil to get a fine even mist and then bake them until golden instead – much healthier. I used smoked Maldon sea salt in this dukkah mix, which I picked up in my local health food shop today and the smoky flavour just came through but next time I will add a bit more. You could also get away with a little more fennel, particularly if you try fish. I served the goujons with some natural yoghurt mixed with mint.

My local health food store is SMBS Foods in East Dulwich. It’s brilliant but it’s also extremely small and busy, especially on a Saturday afternoon. On my visit, the queue stretched right around the tiny shop and I picked up 3 extra items on my way to the checkout. ‘It’s all a ploy to get you to buy more’, according to the woman in front of me. I couldn’t resist buying this muesli bread (pictured below), which is a rye bread with added hazelnuts, oats and raisins. It’s actually really good toasted for breakfast, slightly sweet and crunchy. I also bought a packet of spelt spaghetti and some tofu. I’ve never tried tofu and I’m quite obviously not a vegetarian but after watching a programme about people with high amounts of soya products in their diet that are all over 100 years old I thought I’d give it a try!

The grilled chicken I made earlier in the week when I remembered an unopened bag of Ras El Hanout (a Moroccan spice blend meaning ‘head of the shop’) in the cupboard that I’ve been meaning to use up. I came up with a really simple recipe as I was very tired and not up to much chopping and the like. It’s a mix of the Ras El Hanout, a touch of smoked paprika for depth, a little crushed garlic and some yoghurt. I just mixed everything together and marinated the chicken in it for as long as I could bear to wait and then threaded it onto skewers before grilling until charred. It was delicious, succulent and juicy inside and charred and flavour-packed on the outside.

Dukkah Crusted Chicken (serves 2)

2 chicken breasts, sliced into bite size pieces

100g hazelnuts
70g sesame seeds
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon smoked (or regular) sea salt
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 egg, beaten
- Lightly toast the nuts (in a dry, heavy based pan) and then grind in a pestle and mortar or blender until chopped (not too fine, you don’t want a paste)
- Lightly toast the sesame seeds and add to the nuts
- Lightly toast the fennel, cumin and coriander seeds and the crush and crack lightly, add to the nuts
- Grind the peppercorns and add to the nut mix along with the salt
- Dip the chicken pieces first into the egg and then press them into the dukkah until thoroughly coated
- Shallow fry the pieces until crispy and golden brown on both sides (you can also bake the chicken if you spritz it lightly with oil first).

Ras El Hanout Chicken Skewers (serves 2)

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons ras el hanout
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
250ml natural yoghurt
Fresh coriander and lemon wedges, to serve.

- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and leave to marinate for as long as possible (ideally overnight). If you want to use any lemon in the marinade, put this in half an hour before you are ready to cook.
- Thread onto skewers and grill until lightly charred on all sides.
- Serve with lemon wedges and lots of chopped fresh coriander.

I also sprinkled some finely chopped spring onions on top of the goujons. Yum.

I was very excited to find some young broad beans in the veg box this week. Year after year, there is only one recipe that I absolutely have to make straight away. It’s not my recipe though, it’s actually Delia’s.

I found when I opened the broad bean pods that I had a variety of sizes so I added the large ones first before adding the medium and then small to ensure even cooking. I threw in some bright green soy beans, some extra herbs and substituted sherry vinegar for cider vinegar as I had it to hand. There is actually an earlier version of this recipe in one of her books which is less glamorous with bacon and white wine or some lesser vinegar. No matter what minor tweaks I make, this always screams spring to me as it is so fresh and the flavours are really punchy. Something to mark a change of direction away from constant eating of root vegetables throughout winter.

Broad (and soy) Bean Salad
Adapted from Delia Smith’s ‘How to Cook Book 2′

250g broad beans (shelled weight)
250g soy beans (I used frozen….)
A very large handful of mixed herbs, finely chopped. I used basil, flat leaf parsley, mint and chives.
3 fat slices of pancetta
2 shallots, finely chopped
salt and pepper

For the dressing

1 large clove of garlic
A generous pinch of sea salt
2 level teaspoons mustard powder
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper

- Grill the pancetta until really crisp and then cut into bite size pieces.
- Plunge the broad beans into boiling, salted water and, when it comes back to the boil, reduce the heat and cook for 2 minutes or so before adding the soy beans to the same pan for around 3 minutes more (I used soy beans that cook straight from the freezer, which is not the same thing as using frozen mashed potato Delia!). When they are just tender drain and set aside in a serving bowl.
- For the dressing, Crush the garlic with the salt in a pestle and mortar, then add the mustard powder and mix. Add the cider vinegar and a good grind of black pepper (around 1/2 teaspoon) and mix in again (I like to switch to a mini whisk at this point). Finally, add the olive oil and whisk again to emulsify.
- Add the chopped shallots and crispy pancetta bits to the beans and then pour the dressing over while they are still warm. Finally add the herbs and mix again. Delicious hot and cold.