SKINNIER SMOKED SALMON DIP, lower-cal, healthier

Smoked salmon offcuts give all the flavour at half the cost in this luxurious  lower-cal Christmas spread...

Lower-fat, Wallet-friendly Smoked Salmon Dip with Crispy Toast Crackers 

updated   02.04.20

Who doesn't loved smoked salmon?  The best -- the Foreman's, the Scottish, the artisan -- are melt-in-the-mouth beautifully flavoured and textured treats.  

But not everyone has the deep pockets for those gorgeous morsels.

Here's a compromise: a gorgeously creamy tangy Salmon Pate. It teams cottage cheese with cream cheese and -- ideal for wallet-watchers -- budget lightly smoked salmon.  

Both Iceland and Amazon sell budget smoked salmon which 67goingon50 hasn't yet tested.  Last Christmas, Iceland was selling what it called luxury smoke saltmon at £3 for 150gm while Amazon offers 100gm at £3.  Look around and bear in mind that smoked salmon for pate need not be of th top quality.

The pate requires very little effort but needs to be started the night before. 

Cost: £5.50'ish (7/23)
Feeds: a crowd

 Tools: stick or bowl blender

Ingred:
   100gm/3.5oz plain cottage cheese, strained (method below) 
   125gm/4.4oz strained plain no-or-low fat Greek yoghurt 

   100gm full-fat cream cheese
   100gm/3.5oz smoked salmon pieces: (in 2 lots: 60gm/2.11 oz plus 40gm/1.4oz)
   3 tbsp fresh or 3/4 tsp dried dill
   finely grated zest of 1 lemon
   min 1/2 tbsp -max 1 tbsp lemon juice, to taste


Bread Crackers:
1 small baguette, 2-3 assorted rolls, olive oil, pepper & salt

Method:

1. Put cottage cheese in a sieve lined with clean j-cloth over a bowl; refrigerate a few hours or overnight; discard excess liquid 
2. Process cottage cheese with stick or bowl blender until smooth
3. Add cream cheese, yoghurt, 60gms of smoked salmon, dill, lemon zest & juice; blend till smooth & well-incorporated 
4. Finely chop remaining 40gm/1.4oz smoked salmon; stir into mix
5. Cover tightly; refrigerate min 30 mins before serving 
6. Bread Crackers: Preheat oven to 180C/350F; slice baguettes/rolls into 1/4 inch/1/2cm pieces; spray both sides generously with oil; season; bake 5mins each side; cool; store up to 3 days in air tight tin
7. Serve alongside bread crackers, thin rice crackers*, celery sticks and few crisps

*Kallo, Waitrose

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This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.