Stokes Sauces: Easter Holiday - snacks and starters

Wet weather, great food

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/ketchup-and-sauces

The forecast for Easter is pretty gloomy at best.

The egg hunt may have to move indoors; marathon Monopoly will be on the cards; and the barbecue'll be beers and brollies at the kitchen grill (don't forget Stokes BBQ Sauce).

The good news is, the lawns will have to wait and you'll have time to get creative in the kitchen.

The weather may be dull, but the tastes of Easter feasting will be amazing. And here are some tasty ideas to get you going.

Snacks & Starters:

Mackerel with Pickled Cucumber
& Horseradish Cream

Mackerel is not just a tasty fish but a healthy fish too being rich in Omega 3 fatty acids - the good fat. This simple starter or light lunch uses Mackerel fillets which, if you don't want to do it yourself, are readily available on the packed fish counter, or your fishmonger will fillet them for you. You will need 1 fillet per person for a snack or light lunch.

This is lovely served on toasted slices of Irish soda bread with the pickle and horseradish accompanying the fish.

You'll need:

1 cucumber cut into ribbons with a peeler
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 tbsp of cider vinegar
1 tbsp of caster sugar
Half a teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 tbsp of Stokes Mustard & Dill Sauce
2 tbsp of Stokes Creamed Horseradish
2 tbsp of crème fraîche
4 Mackerel fillets

Here's how:

For the pickled cucumber, put the cucumber ribbons in a sieve and salt well, setting aside to release the natural waters.

In the meantime mix the vinegar, sugar, seeds and dill sauce in a large bowl. After 10 minutes, gently squeeze the excess water out of the cucumber, pat dry with kitchen paper and soak them in the pickling liquid. The longer you leave them the more flavour they'll take on. 10 to 15 minutes will do nicely.

To make the horseradish cream, simply mix the horseradish with the crème fraîche and set aside.

Put the fillets, skin side down, in a pan of gently foaming butter, pressing them down to flatten them. Cook for 5 minutes skin side down and flip them for just a minute before serving.

Brie & Chilli Apple Tart

Hands up - I've never been confident with pastry, but really, trust me, this is easy. Once you have cracked this, there are all sorts of variations on the theme to play with.

You'll need:

1 sheet of ready made puff pastry
8 oz (approx.) of thinly sliced brie
1 sweet green eating apple, cored and sliced
1 tbsp of runny honey
1 tbsp of Stokes Sweet Chilli Sauce
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds, roughly ground in a pestle and mortar.
Pomegranate seeds (optional)

Here's how:

Roll the pastry to a 12 inch square on a piece of baking parchment. Make a border by folding half an inch in on all sides and prick holes with a fork on the pastry base within this border. In a bowl, coat the apple slices well in the honey and sweet chilli sauce.

Place the brie slices on the pastry and cover evenly with the sticky apple slices. Sprinkle the fennel seed over the apples and brush the pastry border with egg yolk. Now bake for 30 minutes in a hot oven. If your teeth can handle them, a scattering of pomegranate seeds adds a decorative finish.

Smoked Trout Pâté

You'll need: