Sardine Pate - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 (106 g) can sardines, in springwater, drained
1/2 lemon, juice and rind of
5 tablespoons yoghurt, natural low-fat
60 g low fat cottage cheese
2 1/2 cm piece cucumbers, finely chopped
fresh basil leaf, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (to taste)
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
4 thin slices cucumbers, made into twists, for garnish
4 sprigs parsley, for garnish

Preparation

Drain the sardines and place them in a bowl with the lemon rind and lemon juice and mash with a fork until the sardine mixture is a smooth consistency.
Before adding the yoghurt and cottage cheese to the sardines, examine both to determine whether they tend to be watery. (Yoghurts and cottage cheese differ so much in this respect). If necessary, first drain the yoghurt and/or cottage cheese in a sieve lined with a filter coffee liner; then mix the yoghurt and cottage cheese with the sardines; and fold in the cucumber and basil.
Season to taste with the garlic salt and the freshly ground black pepper.
Place the sardine pate in 4 ramekins, garnish with the cucumber twists and parsley sprigs.
Serve with crispbreads, pita bread or crusty rolls.
Chef's Notes: An obvious variation would be to make just ONE dish of the pate - and serve it only to those who like sardines! Garlic lovers could, of course, use fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. And if you don't like basil, use chives or spring onions. A quick and easy way to include additional flavours is, of course, to use a cottage cheese with chives or garden vegetables.