Arbroath Smokie Pate with Pickled Beetroot

Pickled beetroot, Arbroath smokie pate.

I’ll get on to this in a minute, first I need to tell you about the sandwich of my dreams.

Yesterday we went to Maltby Street Market to pick up the Christmas beer from The Kernel Brewery and decided to meet some friends for lunch whilst we were at it.  They had never visited this part of London before, so I gave them the run down of all of the food options, but it became clear very quickly that everybody wanted to go to Monty’s Deli.  So off we went.

The Reuben Special at Monty’s Deli, Maltby Street Market. The sandwich of my dreams.

Monty’s Deli, situated in an unassuming railways arch on the line into London Bridge, has become famous across London for its Reuben sandwiches.  For those of you who have never tried one, this is either salt beef or pastrami, piled high on a light caraway rye bread and topped with cheese, sauerkraut and Russian dressing, before being melted together in a heated sandwich press.  If you’re salivating at the thought you should put yourselves out of your misery and go immediately.  For those of us with bigger appetites, they do a ‘special’ which is salt beef and pastrami. Take it from me, this is what you really want, so go hungry.

After that (and an eccles cake from the nearby St John Bakery, which somehow we managed to force down), we were not intending to eat very much for dinner that evening.  By 8pm, I was still feeling full from this gargantuan lunch that I had at just after midday.  I had a few bits sitting in the fridge, so decided to cobble together something that we could spread on toast and eat in front of the television.

I received some beetroot in my veg bag this week, which is always a joy for it is one of my favourite vegetables. Resisting the urge to bake it into some chocolate brownies, I instead roasted them in the oven, wrapped in foil, and figured I would decide what to do with them later.

I also had an Arbroath smokie that I picked up from Moxons in East Dulwich on Friday afternoon.  I had popped down there especially for one of their excellent smoked mackerel, only to find that they had sold out earlier that day.  I had intended to make a smoked mackerel pate to use up the end of a jar of horseradish I had in the fridge.  I was told that the smokie would make a pate just as good, although perhaps without the horseradish, which I agreed with.  I will just have to leave that for another day.

So my cobbled together dinner was a bowl of Arbroath smokie pate, made very simply with some cream cheese, creme fraiche, lemon and pepper; and the roasted beetroot, which I sliced and quick-pickled in some red wine vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and peppercorns.  Beetroot is usually better when pickled for far longer, days even; however, I had not the time, so this one was a little lighter on the vinegar, but still good.

Arbroath Smokie Pate with Pickled Beetroot

For the pate
1 Arbroath smokie
100g cream cheese
50g creme fraiche
A squeeze of lemon
Sea salt and black pepper

For the pickled beetroot
4 medium cooked beetroot
½ large red onion, thinly sliced
125ml red wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
½ cinnamon stick
8 peppercorns
2 whole cloves

To make the pate, flake all of the flesh from the Arbroath smokie into a medium bowl, being careful to remove all bones.  Transfer three-quarters of this mixture into a food processor along with the cream cheese, creme fraiche and lemon, and pulse until smooth.  Scrape the pate into the bowl and stir in the remaining fish and seasoning.  Chill in the fridge until needed.

Peel and slice the cooked beetroot and set aside.  In a large saucepan, combine the red wine vinegar, sugar, cinnamon stick, peppercorns and cloves and heat over a medium-high heat until boiling. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook for around five minutes until the onion is tender.

Stir in the beets and transfer to a medium bowl.  Let the beets sit in the vinegar mixture for 1-2 hours, or until you wish to use them, stirring occasionally.

Serve with toasted rye bread.