Smoked Mackerel Rolls

These are some little pastry bites perfect for a summer picnic. They are made from cream cheese shortcrust pastry and filled with a mix of smoked mackerel, cream cheese, chives, black pepper and lemon. They are the sprinkled with crushed black peppercorns.

They are deceptive little snacks as they look just like sausage rolls. But instead of a meaty flavour you get the strong smoked mackerel taste that is wonderfully flavoured with a kick of black pepper. I think these beat traditional sausage rolls any day. The cream cheese in the pastry tops it off perfectly by giving a flakiness and lightness, with a tender crumb, that far exceeds any normal shortcrust pastry.