This recipe is almost too easy, but what is wrong with that! You might prefer to buy ready-made (at a hugely inflated price) but this doesn't take long and tastes so good you will make it time and time again. And it’s cheap! It’s good for packed lunches, and will help with the new year detox as it’s packed full of Omega oils. Oily fish used to play a huge part in our diet, but now sadly we need to fortify our processed foods to replenish these good things in our diets. Try it with oatcakes and a dollop of horseradish, or some pickles. Or just with a simple salad, a squeeze of lemon juice, a twist of pepper and pow! It's that good. Try using peppered mackerel for a wee hit.

Makes enough for several servings

INGREDIENTS

3 fillets of smoked mackerel

2 tablespoons of crème fraîche

Juice of half a lemon

A twist of pepper

250ml cider vinegar

250ml water

100g sugar

A few spices (star anise, peppercorns)

A handful of vegetables like carrots, cucumber and onion, peeled and cut into nice shapes

A teaspoon of good salt

A few oatcakes

METHOD 

Firstly make a pickle by boiling the spices, vinegar, water, salt and sugar together for a minute.  Then add the vegetables to this liquor. Remove from the heat and put in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. This can be stored for months if you don’t use all the pickles at once.

To make the mackerel pâté, blitz the mackerel with the crème fraîche in a food processor until smooth. Then add the pepper and lemon to taste. It should be nice and smooth.

Keep the pâté in a tub in your fridge until required. It’s perfect with oatcakes and those pickles!