Mushroom and sunflower seed pâté

 

 

This is truly delicious and certainly good enough for a special occasion.  It's also inexpensive, keeps several days in a covered bowl, without refrigeration and leftovers go well in a sandwich. They can also be thinned with a little water, milk or wine to make a great pasta sauce.

Serves 4

 

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 onion, diced

3-6 cloves garlic (depending on size), minced

2 cups (200 g) mushrooms, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 1/2 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 tbsp soy sauce

salt to taste

water as needed for blending

Method:

• Toast the sunflower seeds in a frying pan, over a medium high heat until they are golden brown. Stir frequently. Set aside.
  
• In the same pan, heat the olive oil and then add the onion and fry for a couple of minutes until it's starting to turn translucent.
• Add the garlic, mushrooms, pepper and herbs.
• Continue to fry until the mushrooms have shrunk down and their liquid has evaporated. If the mushrooms are a bit dry, add a splash of water (or wine) to start them off
• Remove from the heat, and stir in the soy sauce.   
• When the seeds and mushroom mixture have cooled down enough, combine them in a blender. Blend whilst gradually adding a splash of water until you have a spreadable uniform texture. Scrape down the sides as needed The amount of water you need will vary, so start off slowly. If you have a high speed blender, you may not need to add any.
• Add salt to taste and blend once again before serving.

Variations:

• Add extra coarsely-cracked pepper 
• Add Dijon mustard 
• As with traditional liver pâté, this is quite strongly seasoned with thyme.  If you're not fond of that herb, you might want to add the herbs at the end and taste as you go.  
• Add sherry or brandy to deglaze the pan 
• Use deodorised coconut oil instead of olive oil for a richer texture. 
• Make ‛butter’ to pour over the top with deodorised coconut oil, a touch of turmeric and a pinch of salt. 
• Use toasted walnuts instead of sunflower seeds.
• Try the pâté with different types of mushrooms.

  
  

Vegan garlic and herb soft "cheese"

While this tastes nothing at all like cheese, it is a very pleasant spread, with a similar consistency to soft cheese.  The lemon juice gives a hint of sourness, which might possibly remind the more  imaginative of goats' cheese.  If you can make it well in advance, so much the better: it will let the flavours combine all the more.  As you are unlikely to have fresh herbs, don't be mean with the flavourings .

Makes about 1/2 cup

1/2 cup sunflower seeds or blanched peanuts

1 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic peeled and crushed

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Annie's Mixed Herbs

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp chives or other fresh herbs, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp reserved soaking water

Method:

• Soak sunflower seeds/peanuts in water overnight or simmer them for 10 minutes. Then drain and reserve the water. 
• Put about half the chives aside, and then put the seeds, yeast, lemon juice, garlic, garlic powder, Annie's Mixed Herbs and salt in a blender. Blend until the cheese comes together, achieving uniform consistency. 
• If all the ingredients get stuck to the side of the blender, which they probably will, scrape down the sides as often as necessary, adding a little more water, if required.
  
• Taste critically and adjust the seasoning. You may want to add more garlic, herbs or lemon juice. 
• Shape the cheese on a plate by hand, or simply serve in a bowl or on a plate, topped with the extra fresh chives.

The flavours of this vegan cheese develop and combine together, so it’s worth not eating it all up at once! It seems to keep quite well for several days, loosely covered.

 

Variations:

• Substitute, or add onion powder for the garlic powder.
• Use different nuts or seeds.
• Add smoked paprika. 
• Add chilli flakes
• Add some chopped peppadew peppers after blending.
  
• Add chopped capers after blending.
  
• Mix in some pesto once the mixture is blended.
• Form the cheese into a log and roll in either Annie's Mixed Herbs or cracked black pepper.