While brown food does not get the most cred on the vegan corner of the internet I hope this recipe will even this out a bit! It is a vegan paté made from mushrooms and walnuts as well as leek and shallots and some seasoning to bring it all together. It is very simple and very delicious if I may say so myself.

All the ingredients are sautéed until they are very soft and then pulsed together with toasted walnuts in a food processor. This makes for a delicious smooth pate if you whizz it for a longer while or a chunkier delight if you just pulse it a few times. Either way you choose to prepare the paté it will make a delicious starter, party food or why not canapé for your new year’s party!?

Serve it family style in a small dish with crackers to dip or a spoon to dollop it onto thin slivers of toasted bread. Or you could serve it as bite sized canapés if you dollop a teaspoon of the paté onto your crackers and serve them on a lovely tray or wooden board. And! It makes a delicious spread for your morning toast the day after. If you have any leftovers that is!

Malin x

Mushroom and Walnut Paté

Makes roughly 1 cup.

INGREDIENTS:

75 g / 2 shallots

75 g / 0,5 slim leek

50 g / tbsp vegan butter

1 sprig fresh rosemary + more for garnish

250 g chestnut mushrooms

40 g / 0,3 cup toasted walnuts

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

0,5 tsp balsamic vinegar

Salt, to taste

Serve with:

Crackers

METHOD:

Peel and finely chop the shallots. Clean the leek well and finely chop that too.

Melt the vegan butter in a skillet and once melted add the chopped shallots and leek. Season with salt and sauté over low heat until softened, about 5-6 minutes, making sure to stir once in a while.

In the meantime remove the rosemary leaves from the woody stem and cast the stem aside. Finely chop the leaves. Set aside for now.

Clean the mushrooms and break them into chunks. Add the chunks to the bowl of a food processor with an s-blade. Pulse 3-4 times until it is finely chopped but not mushy at all (see video for reference).

At this point the shallots and leek should be softened and if that is the case add the rosemary to the pan and sauté for another minute over medium heat until fragrant. Then add the mushrooms, season with salt and keep sautéing over medium heat until they have released their liquid and it has also cooked off. This takes about 8-10 minutes. Give everything a good mix once in a while to make sure nothing burns or sticks to the bottom.

While the mushrooms cook heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Break the walnuts into smaller pieces with your hands and add to the dry pan. toast the nuts, tossing them often, for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant and slightly golden here and there.

Transfer the toasted walnuts to the bowl of the food processor. No need to clean it in between even if there are little flecks of mushroom left. Pulse the walnuts 2-3 times until they are finely chopped but be careful not to make them into a flour.

Once the mushroom liquid has cooked off transfer the sautéed mixture into the food processor bowl with the walnuts. Add the nutritional yeast and balsamic vinegar and pulse a couple of times to combine. Taste and season if needed. Keep pulsing the mixture until you reach your preferred consistency. It could be rough and ready or a smooth paste, it’s up to you.

Serve with crackers as a delicious starter or canapé.

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