Tuna and White Bean Pâté

I adore a good pâté and will order one anywhere I see it, which is presumably why I keep inventing new ones at home. This is the cheapest of the lot by a distance. Two tins of tuna, a tin of white beans and about ten minutes of actual work, and it feeds six as a starter.

The beans do the job that butter does in a traditional pâté. Blitzed with olive oil and lemon they go silky and rich without any of the heaviness, and they stretch two tins of tuna a very long way indeed. It is a good deal lighter than it tastes.

Texture is the thing worth guarding. Blitz the beans properly smooth first, then add the tuna and pulse it three or four times at most, so some flake survives. Left running, the processor turns the whole lot into a uniform paste and it loses all its interest.

It wants half an hour in the fridge before serving, which lets the garlic mellow and brings the lemon forward. It keeps for three days covered, and I usually take a tub to work with oatcakes. Hot toast is better if you happen to be at home.