Quick smoked mackerel and avocado pate

4 ingredients, 5 minutes! This quick and easy mackerel and avocado pate is a delicious lunch, or a sophisticated starter.

Sitting in the hairdresser’s chair at noon, listening to my tummy rumble, all I could think about was lunch! While I should have been watching the snipping scissors or making small-talk, I was fantasising about the contents of my fridge, and what I was going to eat just as soon as I got home!

Quick and simple

I had planned that classic quick lunch staple – a plate of random foods with crackers. However a sudden spark of inspiration made me combine some of the fridge contents together into this absolutely delicious smoked mackerel and avocado pate. It only takes about 3 minutes to make, maybe 5 if you’re relaxed about it, which I wasn’t, as I was pretty desperate to eat the lot pronto.

Luckily for you, I managed to ignore my hunger pangs for just 5 more minutes while I snapped some pictures. I can assure you that once they were done, I scoffed the whole thing down in a matter of seconds!

Mackerel and avocado – a great combination!

This mackerel and avocado pate basically contains a selection of my favourite lunchtime foods, so it’s not terribly surprising that I loved it. However I do think that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The pate is creamy with avocado, but has just enough texture from the smoked mackerel to retain some bite. I was going to add a squeeze of lemon, but after tasting, I decided it didn’t need it. Feel free to add it to your taste though.

Ingredients for Mackerel and avocado pate

To make this yummy, quick and easy pate, you will need the following ingredients. These are all things that we usually have in our fridge! However they’re easy to get if they’re not regulars in your own household. 

You will need:

• Smoked mackerel fillet – I really like the peppered ones, but plain works just as well in this tasty pate
• Avocado – for a creamy texture and healthy fats
• Cream cheese – I like to use a full-fat cream cheese but you could use a lower-fat version if you prefer
• Mayonnaise helps everything to bind
• Lemon juice (optional) for freshness and ‘zing’

Make it fancy!

I ate this wonderful avocado and mackerel pate with some cherry tomatoes, which added a little acidity, as well as some sweetness. They went really well together! If you wanted to make this into a fancy starter, you could serve it inside little hollowed-out tomatoes. Cute!

Since this mackerel and avocado pate would be a terrific Pesach lunch, I’ve shown it here with matza crackers. You could also serve a dollop inside a jacket potato. And the rest of the year, it’s great spread on toast, tortilla wraps, ryvita, you name it! You could even eat it as a dip, with crudite veggies for scooping.

This delicious smoked mackerel pate is also a great addition to a picnic. For more picnic ideas and menu suggestions, click here.

This makes enough for two as a starter or snack, or lunch for one really ravenous Jewish mummy.

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📖 Recipe

Quick smoked mackerel and avocado pate

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A quick and easy mackerel and avocado pate that is a delicious lunch, or a sophisticated starter.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Lunch, Starter

Cuisine European

Servings 2

Calories 242 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 smoked mackerel fillet
• ½ medium avocado
• 2 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• Squeeze of lemon juice to taste (optional)

Instructions

 

• 1 smoked mackerel fillet
  Remove the skin from the mackerel fillet and break it into pieces.
• ½ medium avocado
  Peel the avocado and chop it into chunks.
• 2 tablespoon cream cheese, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  Put the mackerel and avocado into a mini chopper with the cream cheese and mayonnaise, and pulse a few times to combine into a rough pate. Alternatively, mash everything together with a fork.
• Squeeze of lemon juice to taste
  Taste and add lemon juice if desired.
• Serve with toast, crackers, or crudites for dipping.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Quick smoked mackerel and avocado pate

Amount per Serving

Calories

242

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

21

g

32

%

Saturated Fat

 

6

g

38

%

Trans Fat

 

0.01

g

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

5

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

8

g

Cholesterol

 

36

mg

12

%

Sodium

 

128

mg

6

%

Potassium

 

427

mg

12

%

Carbohydrates

 

5

g

2

%

Fiber

 

3

g

13

%

Sugar

 

1

g

1

%

Protein

 

10

g

20

%

Vitamin A

 

297

IU

6

%

Vitamin C

 

6

mg

7

%

Calcium

 

30

mg

3

%

Iron

 

1

mg

6

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword avocado, mackerel

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More quick lunch recipes

Other quick lunch ideas featuring smoked mackerel and/or avocado include:

• avocado toast with smoked mackerel and lime
• courgetti with avocado pesto and baby tomatoes
• avocado salad with oranges, olives and watercress. 

You might also like this smoked mackerel pate without the avocado.