This is from the Fine Dining chapter in my “Gatherings” book. This recipe proves that vegetables can be as satisfying as meat. Chef Sean Baker serves this mushroom pâté on the vegan “charcuterie” board at his Berkeley restaurant, Gather. I was pleasantly surprised when I made this for my former meat-eating discerning husband and he absolutely loved it! This is the original recipe I found in Food & Wine magazine, no edits needed, it’s perfect.
4 to 6 servings active time: 35 mins total time: 1 hr 20 mins
1 cup pecans
½ cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup boiling water
½ pound Portobello mushrooms (stemmed)
2 tablespoons tamari
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon nutritional yeast
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon light miso
2 sun-dried tomatoes (dry-packed or in oil)
Salt
Toasted baguette slices, for serving
Put the pecans in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let stand for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a small heatproof bowl, cover the porcini with the boiling water and let stand until softened, about 15 minutes. Rub the porcini to remove grit; transfer them to a small bowl. Reserve the soaking liquid.
Using a spoon, gently remove the dark gills on the underside of the Portobello mushrooms. Slice the caps into ¼-inch-thick pieces.
In a bowl, whisk together the tamari, olive oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, rosemary and miso. Add the sliced portobellos and toss to coat thoroughly. Let stand for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.
In a small saucepan, combine the soaked porcini and sun-dried tomatoes. Slowly pour in the porcini soaking liquid, stopping before you reach the grit at the bottom. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat until the tomatoes are tender, about 4 minutes.
Drain pecans and transfer them to a food processor. With a slotted spoon, transfer the marinated portobellos, porcini, and tomatoes to the processor; puree to a coarse paste, adding about ¼ cup of the porcini cooking liquid. Add a little more of the porcini liquid if the mixture is too thick. Lightly season with salt.
Transfer the pâté to a crock and serve with toasted baguette rounds.
TiP:::
The pâté can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Serve lightly chilled or at room temperature.