Mary Berry’s hot-smoked salmon and dill pâté blends hot-smoked and cold-smoked salmon with dill, capers, cream cheese and melted butter. From her Complete AGA Cookbook, it serves 6 with no baking, chills for about an hour, and can be made 2 days ahead.
Berry explains in the AGA Cookbook (2015) that “hot-smoked salmon is cooked smoked rather than dry smoked and the combination of the two makes a moist pâté.” Using both types in one recipe is unusual, and it gives this pâté its layered smokiness.
The texture is the thing to get right here. Berry processes the salmon until “roughly chopped” and adds the cream cheese last, whizzing “until just combined” with texture remaining. She’s clear this should not become a smooth purée, so you want visible flakes throughout.
Mary Berry Hot-Smoked Salmon and Dill Pâté
Course: AppetizersCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes310
kcalA no-cook pâté from Berry’s Complete AGA Cookbook that uses both hot-smoked and cold-smoked salmon for depth of flavour. Serve in ramekins or a sharing bowl with melba toast. Berry notes you can serve individually like Mary does, or in a big bowl “for everyone to dig in, like Lucy.”
Ingredients
50g (2 oz) butter
Juice of 1 small lemon
2 tablespoons capers
100g (4 oz) hot-smoked salmon flakes
100g (4 oz) smoked salmon
1 small bunch of dill, torn into smaller pieces
1 x 180g (6 oz) tub of full-fat cream cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
- To garnish:
6 sprigs of fresh dill
1 tablespoon capers
Wedge of lemon
Directions
- You will need 6 small ramekins or china pots, or an open sharing bowl.
- Measure the butter, lemon juice and capers into a small pan. Heat gently and stir until the butter has melted. Set aside to cool for about 5 minutes.
- Measure both the smoked salmons into a processor, add the dill and whiz until roughly chopped. Pour in the melted butter mixture and whiz again for 5 seconds. Add the cream cheese and pepper and whiz again until just combined (still with texture, not a purée). Spoon into the ramekins or sharing bowl and leave to chill for about an hour.
- To serve, bring to room temperature and garnish with fresh dill, a few capers and a wedge of lemon.
FAQs
What’s the difference between hot-smoked and cold-smoked salmon?
Hot-smoked salmon is cooked during the smoking process, so it arrives flaky and opaque, similar to baked salmon but with a deep smoky flavour. Cold-smoked salmon is the silky, translucent type you find in packets of sliced smoked salmon. Berry uses both to create a pâté with two textures.
The hot-smoked flakes give the pâté body and a strong smoke note. The cold-smoked salmon adds richness and that familiar cured flavour. Together they produce something more complex than either fish would create alone, which is exactly Berry’s point in her headnote.
Why does Berry melt the butter with lemon and capers?
Melting the butter with the lemon juice and capers infuses it with their flavours before it goes into the processor. The warm butter also helps everything bind together smoothly when you pulse it with the fish. Cold butter would leave lumps.
Berry lets the mixture cool for 5 minutes before adding it to the salmon. This prevents the heat from cooking the fish or melting the cream cheese too much. It’s a small detail, but it keeps the pâté’s texture right.
How do I avoid over-processing this pâté?
Berry gives very specific timings: “whiz until roughly chopped,” then “whiz again for 5 seconds” after adding the butter, then “whiz again until just combined” with the cream cheese. Each pulse is brief and deliberate.
The common mistake is treating it like Berry’s smoked haddock mousse, which is blended until smooth. Berry wants visible flakes and texture, not a uniform paste. If your processor is powerful, use the pulse button in short bursts rather than letting it run. Check after each pulse and stop as soon as the cream cheese is mixed through.
Can I serve this at room temperature or should it stay cold?
Berry specifically says to “bring to room temperature” before serving. Cold pâté straight from the fridge is harder to spread and the flavours are muted. Ten to fifteen minutes on the counter before your guests sit down is enough.
This is different from her terrines, which she serves cold for clean slicing. A pâté doesn’t need to hold its shape on a plate, so room temperature works perfectly. The butter softens slightly and the smoky flavour comes through more fully.
What’s the best bread to serve with this pâté?
Berry suggests melba toast, which she includes a recipe for elsewhere in the AGA Cookbook. Melba toast is thin enough that it doesn’t overwhelm the pâté, and its crunch contrasts nicely with the soft texture. You could also use oatcakes or thin rye crackers.
Thick-cut bread or rolls would be too substantial here. The pâté is already rich with butter and cream cheese, so the base needs to be light. Berry takes the same approach with her Three Fish Terrine from the Complete Cookbook, where she serves thick slices with watercress rather than heavy bread.
How is this different from Berry’s smoked salmon mousse?
Berry’s smoked salmon mousse uses whipped cream folded into processed salmon trimmings, creating a light, airy texture. This pâté uses melted butter and cream cheese with no whipped cream at all, so it’s denser and more spreadable.
The ingredient list tells the story: the mousse has double cream, horseradish and tomato purée. This pâté has butter, capers and dill. They’re built on completely different flavour bases. The mousse is a plated starter with garnishes, while this is informal food for sharing with toast and drinks.
