Mushroom Pate

   Vegan

  Paleo

Woke up this morning thinking mushrooms! But wasn't sure what I wanted to make. Hmmmm Pate came to mind.

I have never made a pate with mushrooms before and wanted some ideas, so I looked up several recipes on Pinterest and Google. Some of the recipes I came across had cheese, wine, lentils and tofu. I wasn't feeling any of those today, but I did use thyme that a few had suggested. So this is what I came up with. 

Ingredients 

Approx 20 mixed sizes of crimini & white mushrooms

2 large garlic cloves

1/2 cup walnuts

2 tsp fresh thyme

1 tsp bacon fat ( or olive oil )

Salt & pepper to taste

* use organic when possible 

 

**note, bacon fat isn't an ingredient I usually use. Since we don't eat bacon very often-pretty much rarely, it's of course not around. Over the holidays I make water chestnuts wrapped in bacon as it's a huge family request & treat. I happened to have some bacon left over and cooked it up this am. A great chef will tell you to never throw out bacon fat because it adds so much depth & flavor to your cooking. It's just not a healthy ingredient. Everything in moderation. Using olive oil of course is a healthier choice by far. But this little ingredient gave the pate a nice rich taste. 

Method

Slice or cube mushrooms ( doesn't need to be pretty ) 

Sauté mushrooms in your choice of oil or the bacon fat ( about 8-10 mins ) * a lower fat option would be to steam the mushrooms. 

Finely chop the garlic and remove the thyme from its stem and add to the mushrooms about 5 minutes into the cooking.

Remove from heat when done and add them to a high speed blender ( like a Vitamix ) and add the walnuts and a little salt & pepper.

Blend till the mixture is puréed , give it a quick taste to see if you need more salt or pepper.

Serve with bread, crackers, veggie sticks or use as a sauce or even a sandwich spread. It's a great make ahead recipe.

I also added some roasted garlic that I had left over and then sprinkled with a strip of bacon.

**to make this a Vegan dish, simply use the olive oil. You can also make this a Raw dish by skipping the sautéing part and placing everything right into the blender.

About Walnuts: Did you know that walnuts contain essential fatty acids as in Omega 3? Is high in fiber, protein & vitamin E plus contains many other nutrients. Walnuts also contain something called Phytonutrients -AKA --health benefits. For instance the antioxidant & anti-inflammatory benefits of walnuts helps reduce our risk for heart disease, cancer & type 2 diabetes.

About Mushrooms:  has many health benefits similar to walnuts. Each type of mushroom is full of nutrients and are each unique with some being superior over the others. For example the reishi mushroom is a herbal mushroom known to have miraculous health benefits and has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Phytonutrients can only be obtained from plant foods. The more we eat of them and less of animal foods, will only increase our good health and mushrooms and walnuts are great contributors.

Hope you enjoy and be Nutritionally Well.