Herby Mushroom Pâté with Za'atar

If I were to have a perfect food day it would be full of nibbles. We really love a good graze in our house. Those who know me well understand my past love of a good cheeseboard but my wellbeing and waistline definitely appreciate my newer vegan approach. And nibbling on things that are actually good for you is a win/win situation - hurrah!

 

I made this Mushroom Pâté on a grazing day not long ago and it was just so deliciously satisfying I knew it had to be a blog post. There is an abundance of herbs and the earthiness of the za'atar really compliments the mushrooms. If you haven't tried za-atar before I definitely recommend it. There are a couple of versions and I use the darker Palestinian variety. It's a lovely blend of roasted Sesame, Thyme and Sumac. The flavour has a real depth and you do not need much to make an impact. Since first buying last year it has become one of my store cupboard staples.

I used a combination of large flatcap and brown chestnut mushrooms although in the past I've used more exotic varieties to deepen the flavour. Try to avoid using a variety which tends to leak moisture when cooking (such as the flatcaps!) but buy your favourites and I'm sure you can't go far wrong!

This recipe would be a great starter to serve 4 with some dippers of your choice. You will need:

310g Mushrooms
100g Vegan Cream Cheese Alternative (I use Tofutti Soya Alternative, which is dairy and gluten free)
Small handful of Basil
1 sprig of Rosemary
Large handful of Flat leafed Parsley
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Za'atar
10 Black Peppercorns
2 tsp Salt Flakes
Juice of ½ a Lemon

First roughly slice all the mushrooms. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium-high heat and add the mushrooms. Mushrooms generally respond well to a good charring so turn up the heat and get them sizzling! Move around the pan with a wooden spoon frequently as they cook. If they leak liquid then simply drain this half way through cooking then continue to brown. After 8 minutes remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Remove the leaves from the herbs, discarding the stalks, and finely chop. In a pestle and mortar crush the peppercorns coarsely.

Put the mushrooms in a food processer then add the cream cheese, lemon juice, chopped herbs, za'atar, salt and crushed pepper. Blend on only a few rotations to prevent over-processing the mixture. Leaving small chunks of mushroom throughout gives it a great texture.

Divide the mixture between your serving receptacles, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving. If you have time to make these the day before you need them then they definitely benefit from leaving to chill overnight. They will last for a few days covered in the fridge.

Although this is not exactly what you would call a health food it's very tasty and just rich enough to be satisfied with small quantities. I love spreading on crispbreads and dunking raw carrots - poifect!

On another note, this week is National Vegetarian Week in the UK and a great time for you to seek out your local veggie cafes, restaurants, shops and markets. It's also a great time of the year for British produce so don't miss out.

Enjoy!

Autumnal Cauliflower, Chestnut & Portobello Soup

Now that I've discovered the joys of cauliflower it's really turning into an Autumn staple. This soup has a lovely, earthy flavour and is so creamy you'd swear there was cream in it. I've used my blender which makes the texture of the soup as smooth as velvet, but a hand blender would do the trick too. This recipe would serves 4 as a starter, or 2/3 as a main.

My obliging husband picked up a good load of Chestnuts at the weekend - coming to a forest floor near you - and while chatting over their potential uses this (rather delicious) idea cropped up. I love using foraged food in my kitchen - i've utilised Nettles, Blackberries and Chesnuts in the past, but I'm not convinced enough of my (very limited) Mushroom knowledge to use those just yet. But the best bit about foraging is that it's basically free produce, and I'm not one to pass up a freebie. 

 For this recipe you will need:

1 head of Cauliflower

2 x Portobello Mushrooms

Approx. 160g Chestnuts 

500ml vegetable stock

3 tbsp Olive Oil

2 tsp Coconut Oil

Salt Flakes

Black Peppercorns

Dill (to garnish)

Firstly set your oven to 200c and score the skin of your chestnuts one-by-one down the middle. Put them in a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes. The skin will start to curl up as they are cooking. Once roasted, you will need to peel away and discard the brown outer, keeping the cream-coloured innard for the soup.

Line a large tray with foil and break up the whole Cauliflower, discarding the leaves and breaking the florets into manageable pieces. Lay these out on the foil and drizzle with approximately 3 tbsp Olive Oil. Season generously with Salt flakes & coarsely ground Black Peppercorns and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes until tender. If at any point during roasting the edges are starting to blacken I would suggest covering with foil and lowering the heat to 190c. You want them to end up golden rather than charred.

Slice up your Portobello Mushrooms, and keep 2 (or one for each serving) slices to the side for garnishing later. Heat 1 tsp Coconut Oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Keep moving the mushrooms around the pan while they fry, around 10 minutes, until the edges are browning nicely.

Once you have cooked all of the ingredients, put them all in the blender with another teaspoon of coarsely ground pepper and a sprinkle of salt. Add a little of the vegetable stock at a time, 500ml should do the trick if you like a thicker, velvety soup but by all means add more if you like - it will certainly make it go further.

Heat the soup gently in a pan until piping hot but not bubbling and season to taste - I like mine super-peppery. Fry the 2 remaining pieces of mushroom using Coconut Oil until they are crisp & golden. Use as a garnish to top the soup with a sprig of Dill.

Enjoy & Happy Halloween all!