Tuna Pâté
Tuna Pâté is delicate, light, and quick to make. Simply blend tinned tuna with soft butter and flavour with a hint of lemon and black pepper.
If you want to make a larger amount increase the butter so that it is still half that of the drained tuna (e.g. for 200g of tuna you'll need 100g of butter).
It's recommended that you read the accompanying blog post for extra tips before beginning the recipe.
Ingredients
- 100 g tinned tuna in olive oil (weight after draining: reserve the oil)
- 50 g salted butter (very soft but not melting)
- ½ - 1 small lemon (juice only)
- finely ground black pepper (to taste)
Garnishes (optional)
- chopped herbs (e.g. dill, chives, parsley)
- capers see Recipe Notes for homemade alternative
- chopped gherkins
To serve
- toast or crackers
- vegetable crudites (e.g. sticks of celery, cucumber, carrot, pepper)
Instructions
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Drain the olive oil from the tuna but do not discard.
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Put the tuna in a blender or food processor along with the soft butter, 2 teaspoons of the reserved olive oil, the juice from half of the lemon and a small amount of black pepper.
Whizz until smooth.
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Taste and add more lemon juice and/or pepper if you think it needs it.
Note: if you've used unsalted butter then you may need to add a pinch or two of salt.
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Transfer the pâté to a small dish or other container, cover, and put in the fridge to chill. It will firm up a little, but should still have a soft, spreadable consistency.
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Top with any or all of the optional garnishes.
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Serve spread on toast or crackers, sprinkled with more of the optional garnishes if liked, and/or with vegetable crudité for dipping.
Pâté can be stored in the fridge for 2 days.
Recipe Notes
You can make a homemade alternative to capers by pickling nasturtium seeds as per this recipe: Nasturtium Capers.
Tuna Pâté is based on a recipe by Elizabeth David in Summer Cooking (1955).