The Ark Restaurant Smoked Salmon Pate'

Submitted by Chef George S.

"Beyond scrumptious. Make sure to have all of the ingredients measured, chopped, etc. before beginning. It goes without saying that only the freshest ingredients should be used. The time and effort this dish takes are worth it."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 16

ingredients

• Watercress Sauce

• 1 ounce watercress, fresh
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1⁄4 cup sour cream

• Pate

• 4 ounces watercress, fresh
• 1 small onion, peeled & coarsely chopped
• 4 ounces smoked salmon (cold smoked over alder is best)
• 18 ounces salmon fillets, fresh, uncooked
• 2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped fine
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1⁄2 teaspoon white pepper (ground fine)
• 1 1⁄4 cups heavy cream
• 2 large eggs

directions

1. Watercress Sauce:

2. In food processor, puree watercress, mustard, salt and pepper until smooth.
3. With machine running, add oil drop by drop as mixture thickens.
4. Add lemon juice, then add sour cream.
5. Set aside to chill while preparing pate.

6. Pate:

7. Butter a 3 1/2" X 11 1/2" X 2 1/2" terrine (or glass bread pan)and line it with buttered parchment paper (butter side up).
8. Rinse 2-3 sprigs of watercress (for decoration) and lay on a paper towel to dry.
9. Blanch remaining watercress in boiling water for 15 seconds, plunge into ice water. Drain and squeeze dry.
10. Preheat oven to 250°F.
11. In food processor, add onion, smoked salmon, salmon fillets (cut into 1" pieces), dill, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Process until mixture forms a fine paste.
12. With machine running on low, slowly add heavy cream. Add eggs, one at a time; process an additional 30 seconds.
13. Remove 3/4 of the mixture to a bowl.
14. To the remaining 1/4 mixture, add blanched watercress, and mix by cutting through the mixture with a knife. (Mixture will not be uniform in color).
15. Put one half of the reserved (no watercress) mixture into the terrine. Cut through it several times with a knife, and then bang it on the counter to settle it.
16. Place the watercress-salmon mixture down the middle of the pate in the terrine, distributing as evenly as possible.
17. Add the rest of the salmon mixture. Bang it twice to settle it.
18. Cover with a piece of buttered parchment paper. Bake in a water bath for 15 minutes at 250°F Turn heat down to 225°F and bake an additional 25 minutes.
19. Pate will be firm, but not hard.
20. Wait at least 5 minutes and unmold onto a serving plate. Decorate the top of the pate with reserved watercress.
21. Serve thin slices with watercress sauce laced diagonally across.