BEEF PATE RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Peel the skin off the smoked mackerel and discard. Put the fish in a food processor, breaking it up slightly as you go. Add the cream cheese, the zest and most of the juice of 1 lemon and a few leaves of parsley. Whiz for 20 seconds or so, or until you get a nice creamy pâté. Season to taste.
  2. Toss the snipped cress, remaining parsley leaves and celery leaves together in a large bowl, and add the celery sticks. Dress with a good squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of extra virgin olive oil and some salt and pepper.
  3. Heat a griddle pan. When hot, add the bread, in batches, and press down with something heavy like a frying pan so the bread is squashed against the griddle ridges. Toast for about 1 minute, turning halfway.
  4. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges and serve alongside the pâté with the griddled toast, the herb salad and a nice glass of chilled white.

Steps:

• 1. Season the beef with black pepper. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the beef, and cook over a high heat until browned all over.

  2. Put the beef fillet in a roasting tin and cook in a preheated oven at 220C (200C fan, Gas 7) for 25 minutes for rare beef, 35 minutes for medium, or 40 minutes for well-done. Leave to cool completely.

  3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the frying pan, add the onion and the mushrooms, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until softened. Increase the heat to high, and cook until the excess moisture has evaporated. Turn into a bowl and leave to cool completely.

  4. Add the liver pâté to the mushroom and onion mixture, season with salt and pepper, and stir well to combine.

  5. To wrap the beef and pâté mixture in the pastry, roll out 300g (10 oz) of the pastry to a 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 in) rectangle. Spread half of the pate mixture down the middle, leaving a 10 cm (4 in) border on each side. 

  Then, remove the string from the beef and place the beef on the pâté mixture. Cover the beef with the remaining pâté mixture.

  Brush the pastry border with beaten egg. Fold the short sides of the pastry over the beef.

  Fold over the long ends and turn the pastry over. Brush with beaten egg. Roll out the remaining pastry, and cut into strips, 5 mm (¼ in) wide. Arrange in a lattice pattern on top of the pastry, then glaze the strips with the beaten egg.

  6. Bake at 220C (200C fan, Gas 7) for 45 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Cover with foil after 30 minutes to prevent the pastry becoming too brown. Leave to stand for about 10 minutes, then slice and serve with gravy.