Smoked Trout and Horseradish Pâté

This smoked trout and horseradish pâté is delicious spread on crackers or toast.

This Smoked Trout and Horseradish Pâté actually has freshly grated horseradish, which adds such a warmth to the dish.

I'd never used fresh horseradish as an ingredient prior to making this spread, and was so happy to find it in the grocery store. It's a root vegetable, and reminds me of fresh ginger, only much larger. If you can't find it, or if it is out of season, you can substitute prepared horseradish.

This month, the Fish Fridays group is posting Irish themed fish dishes.

While I'm not exactly well traveled, I have actually been to Ireland, twice! Mr. Kitchen was born in Ireland, and, when we could finally afford it, and our youngest has just graduated from high school, we took our kids to Dublin to meet their cousins and other relatives. The hospitality was amazing. We spent about a week in Dublin, and every day when we stepped out of our hotel lobby, one of our relatives would suddenly appear in a car and swoop us off to their home for a wonderful family reunion of their side of the family.

One of my favorite memories is of visiting aunt Doreen's home. Doreen was married to Reggie, my father-in-law's youngest brother. I had met Doreen and Reggie when they visited California when Mr. Kitchen and I were newlyweds. I'll always cherish the gorgeous Waterford bowl they carried on the plane to give to us.

Reggie had remained a bachelor until his late 30s, and married a much younger Doreen. I guess it was quite scandalous. Doreen was completely adorable, and captured my heart. With my short attention span and preference for people getting to the point, it was really difficult for me at first to integrate myself into this talkative story-telling Irish family. Doreen made me feel so comfortable.

There is so much more I could tell you about my husband's family in Ireland, but I don't want to bore you. Just know that Irish hospitality is real. I have never felt so welcomed.

A couple of years later, we returned to Ireland without the kids, and starting in Galway, drove the southern route over to Dublin to, once again, visit family. We stopped in cities along the way, including Galway, Kenmare, Kinsale, Waterford, and Wicklow. Of course, we spent lots of time in pubs.

In the pubs, along with the ale, the menu always included a chowder or other fish dish, including some sort of smoked fish spread. This smoked trout pâté reminds me of that trip and those pubs.

After the recipe, be sure to check out the rest of #FishFridayFoodies Irish fish recipes. Thanks to Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for creating this group, and Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen for choosing the Irish theme.

Smoked Trout and Horseradish Pâté Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 ounces smoked trout filet
• zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup freshly grated horseradish or prepared horseradish
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt flakes or Kosher salt

Instructions

1. Remove the skin from the trout and, in a medium bowl, mash the fish with a fork.
2. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, cream cheese, parsley, pepper, and salt. Mix thoroughly, cover, and chill for for at least an hour.
3. Serve with crackers or whole wheat toast.

Yield: 4 servings

Recipe adapted from The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook, which is my new obsession ever since I got it as a Christmas gift. 

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