Smoked Trout Pate and Crostini With Pickled Cucumber and Red Onion

Preparation

• 1
  Finely zest the lemon and then squeeze out the juice.
• 2
  To make the pate, remove any skin or bones from the trout fillets and break them into the bowl of a food processor. Add the creme fraiche, horseradish, lemon zest, 4 teaspoons of lemon juice and chopped dill leaves. Season with salt and black pepper.
• 3
  Pulse briefly several times until fairly smooth but still showing speckles of trout, lemon and dill. Spoon the pate into 4 small ramekins, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge to chill.
• 4
  To make the pickle, halve lengthways, peel and deseed the cucumber then slice thinly. Peel, halve and thinly slice the red onion. Place both into a small bowl.
• 5
  Mix the rice wine, caster sugar and a sprinkling of salt together and then pour over the cucumbr and onion. Stir, cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge to chill.
• 6
  When you are ready to serve, make the crostini. Heat the oven to 200 degrees or 180 degrees fan oven and cut 8-12 thin slices of bread.
• 7
  Brush olive oil onto both sides of the bread and arrange the slices on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes until the top is golden brown then turn them and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until brown and crispy.
• 8
  Serve a ramekin of pate for each person, garnished with a sprig of dill, accompanied by 2-3 crostini and a small side dish of pickled cucumber and red onion.