This month in the Secret Recipe Club we were assigned Karen’s blog Lavender and Lovage. Karen blogs about British food and the customs that often surround them. She also blogs some wonderful French recipes, as she splits her time between North Yorkshire and the South West of France. Karen’s blog is full of gorgeous pictures and wonderful recipes and I am hooked!

As you can probably tell, I really really like Karen’s blog. I have made three of her recipes so far (out of a long list that I want to try) and each of them was delicious and exceeded my expectations. I was going to share the recipe for her Butter Bean and Bacon Cassoulet which is wonderful but my fellow SRC member Emily had already discovered and raved about it. I’ve chosen to share a really simple recipe for mackerel pate which we had as part of a lovely lazy Sunday lunch. This would also be a great starter at a dinner party.

Ingredients

• 250g peppered smoked mackerel
• 125g cream cheese with herbs (Karen suggest boursin)
• 125g creme fraiche
• salt and pepper to season
• 1 small shallot, peeled and finely diced
• juice of half a lemon (Karen used a whole lemon but check as you go along in case less will do)
• cayenne pepper

Flake the mackerel into a bowl and add all the other ingredients. Mix well and then cover with cling film. Chill for an hour in the fridge before serving. We used fresh crusty bread to serve this with. This is so simple yet makes the most delicious pate I’ve ever tasted. Please go make this and check out Karen’s wonderful blog!