TGIFood
What’s cooking today: Biltong pâté
Pâtés, or at least those that do not require any cooking, are among the easiest things to make. All you need are the ingredients, a blender and a decision: do you want it to be smooth or chunky?
Biltong makes a wonderful pâté. It has in-built flavours from its curing, which almost invariably includes coriander seeds. For a pâté, a squeeze of lemon juice adds a piquant lift and offsets the creaminess of the cream cheese, which in this recipe comprises two kinds, the more acidic, drier Italian mascarpone style, and a common-or-garden local version which is sweeter. I prefer a textured biltong pâté with some pleasing texture, but you can blitz it longer and finer if you prefer.
This recipe accompanies this column.
Ingredients
130 g soft, lean beef biltong, sliced thinly and then chopped roughly
230 g plain cream cheese
250 g mascarpone
Juice of half a lemon
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste (optional, depending on how salty your biltong is)
Method
Blend all ingredients together in a food processor until you have the desired consistency. You can make it chunkier or smoother, as you like it. Smear on toast or serve with savoury crackers. You could also use it as the pâté layer on a Beef Wellington, instead of the usual pâté de foie gras or chicken liver pâté. DM/TGIFood
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Can you freeze this pate’?