Oh, how I love pâté! It is one of my favourite things to eat, spread on a piece of toast with a little cornichon on the side. I’m no stranger to chicken liver pâté, but this vegetarian incarnation is both rich and satisfying—especially when paired with blueberry preserves or dried apricots.
1/4 cup butter
2 cooking onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 ½ cups walnut halves
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup red wine
3 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh ground pepper
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Add the butter to a large skillet over medium low heat. Once melted, add onions and garlic, and cook for 12-15 min, until onions are golden and beginning to caramelize.
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Add the walnuts and thyme and cook for another 3 min, stirring continuously.
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Add Dijon mustard and wine, scraping any brown bits from the bottom off the pan, and let the wine reduce until there is only about a tbsp of liquid left in the pan. Add tamari and stir to coat the nuts. Remove from heat.
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Pour mixture into a food processor fitted with an S-blade. Add lemon juice and process the mixture, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mixture has a smooth consistency. This may take a couple of turns in the processor, scraping down the sides between each pulse.
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Line 4 half-cup ramekins with plastic wrap, sprinkle bottom of each ramekin with 1/4 tbsp. of pepper. Then divide pâté evenly into each and press down firmly. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour. The flavours take a while to fully develop, so leaving the pâté overnight before serving is best.
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Turn pate out on to a platter and remove plastic wrap. Serve with crackers, vegetables, apricots and blueberry preserves.