Lentil & Walnut Pâté
Pâté - what a weird food. The original meat-including version has all-sorts of animal-parts in it, I was never a fan growing up. No brown moist-mush for me please!! However, I spied a vegan version in this cookbook I have called 'Salad Samurai' - and goodness was I happy to make it on a whim for a christmas get-together. I actually loved it (because it had walnuts and lentils as a base), and so did everyone else - more than normal pâté!! How cool.
The original recipe had sherry in it, which is dandy and all, however I bet the average-joe doesn't always have sherry hanging around, especially if you don't live with your parents and have access to their alcohol cupboard (which for the first time ever came in handy for moi). Turns out you don't need Sherry for vegan pâté to taste exceptional - and this simplified & streamlined version of the recipe will no doubt blow you and your friends minds out as soon as they taste it. Can't wait for you to try it!!!
Ingredients
- 1 heaped cup walnuts
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 heaped tsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 x 400g tin brown lentils, drained & rinsed
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- salt & pepper
Method
- In a dry non-stick fry-pan, toast the walnuts until fragrant and lightly golden. Remove from the pan.
- Then add (to the same pan), a splash of water (or oil) along with the onion, garlic, and ginger. Saute until soft and caramelized.
- Add the toasted walnuts, sauteed onion mixture and all the remaining ingredients to a food processor. Blend until ultra smooth and pate looking, scraping down the sides if necessary.
- Transfer to a container to chill before serving. Enjoy!!