Salmon paté, dip, canapé

The recipe for this lunch/dip/canapé was given to me by my neighbour Helen. She serves her canapé version with sweet chilli sauce, but I opted for the crunch of a cucumber and celery topping instead. Both work well. This is a really handy recipe to keep, as not only is it made of store cupboard ingredients, but, as the name implies, it can be served in different ways. It makes a delicious lunchtime paté with toast fingers or can be served as a dip to be enjoyed pre-dinner with crackers, crudités and a chilled glass of white wine. Or you can jazz it up on toasted croute and serve it as an easy, make ahead canapé. Take your pick.

Ingredients - lunch for 2/3 or approximately 24 canapés (depending on size)

For the paté/dip:

170g tin red salmon

2 tbsp cream cheese

2 tbsp chopped parsley

Zest 1/2 lemon

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tbsp creme fraiche

Seasoning to taste

For the salsa/garnish:

6 cm piece of cucumber

1 inner stalk of celery

2 tsp chopped chives

Seasoning to taste

For the croute:

4 slices bread

Olive oil

Seasoning to taste

Large parsley leaves

Method

Blitz all the paté/dip ingredients in a food processor until well blended and then scoop into a bowl.

Chill until required.

For an easy lunch:

Cut the cucumber piece in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Chop the cucumber and celery into even sized cubes and mix in the chives and seasoning. Serve in a dish beside the bowl of salmon and toast fingers or crackers.

To serve as a canapé

For the croute:

Method

Heat oven to 190°c

Stamp out bread circles using a small plain sided cutter. Brush with olive oil and season. Place on a baking tray.

Cover the croutes with baking parchment and carefully top with another baking tray to weigh them down.

Place in the oven to cook for 8 minutes, or until the underside is golden. Cool on a rack.

Can be made 2 or 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container. They will keep longer still if you put a silica gel in the tin (see tips page).

For the salsa:

Cut the seeded cucumber and the celery into tiny even sized dice. Mix together with the chives and season.

To serve:

Place a large parsley leaf on each croute to protect them against dampness from the dip. Put a spoonful of dip on each, followed by a sprinkle of the cucumber and celery salsa. Provided the croute have baked dry and crispy the canapé will keep for 2-3 hours in a cool place (not the fridge).