Smoked Salmon Pâté. Rocking Into Monday With Duke Evers.

Especially this particular Monday morning.

I went to bed on the early side last night only to be woken up (as per usual) by the husband’s snoring. Off to the couch where the cat (as per usual) thinks it is playtime. Finally got to sleep, exhausted, but made the mistake of looking at the clock to see how much longer I had to sleep.

It was 1 minute before the alarm was set to go off. Ugh! I hate that.

So, I head out for my usual morning run, which this time of year is in complete darkness. No problem since I have my nifty headlamp.

Except there was a problem: Thick fog.

Every freakin’ thing outside looked like it was custom made for a horror movie. Spooky shadows, leaves falling that did not look like leaves, white cloaked God knows whats, and a poor, fuzzy line of vision from all that fog so sometimes I couldn’t see at all. Even the music on my current running playlist seemed Freddy approved.

Let’s just say my pounding heart got a workout of its own that had nothing to do with the running.

All of which has absolutely nothing at all to do with Smoked Salmon Pâté.

This elegant and super quick creamy starter is rich with salmon flavor. The lemon juice adds brightness while the parsley gives it a fresh-tasting edge. Peppery slices of radish are the perfect accompaniment.

Smoked Salmon Pâté

Ingredients:

1 Tbs horseradish
300g smoked salmon
200g light cream cheese
Bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 lemons
Extra virgin olive oil
1 small bunch of radishes, sliced
Loaf of crusty bread

Directions:

1. Put horseradish into food processor with salmon, cream cheese, parsley and pinch of black pepper. Finely grate in the zest of a lemon and squeeze in the juice of 1 ½ lemons. Process for 1 to 2 minutes until very smooth.

2. Spoon salmon pâté into a serving bowl. Drizzle with some oil. Serve with bread, radishes and the remaining lemon half for squeezing over.

Serves 6

Recipe adapted from Meals In Minutes by Jamie Oliver

A rough start to Monday morning begs for some restorative music.

‘Lions’ by Seattle-based duo Duke Evers has the energy and quick beat that perfectly fits the bill. Plus, how could one go wrong with a band billed as “f*cking phenomz”?