The Spicy Spatula

Hey! Hope your week is off to a good start. Mondays are errands and grocery shopping day for me so I’m happily accepting good vibes all day!

I spent the weekend working on a project for a client as well as getting deep into the small town of Emerald Creek. If you’re curious to know more about this small midwestern town, click HERE for details. Anyway, when you’re in the writing cave time tends to lose all meaning. Minutes and hours pass in the same span of seconds and before you know it, noon is ten o’clock and your stomach is growling its hungry state.

Luckily I had some crusty bread on hand so all I needed was something to put on it, and the question became, “Sandwiches or something else?” Since we had sandwiches–a lot–recently, I opted for the elusive something else and that’s when I remembered that I’d bought mushrooms for a very specific reason this week.

Vegan pâté.

And before you non-vegans or purists come for me, yeah I know that pâté is usually reserved for meat BUT I’ll bet you didn’t know that the modern variation of the word is derived from the Old French word for paste. That’s right, paste, so don’t even go there.

And for the rest of you? Well I hope you enjoy this recipe. It’s vegan and plant-based and your kitchen appliances do most of the work and that’s always a bonus.

Grab your favorite type of crusty bread, crackers or however else you eat it, and get ready to blow your tastebuds’ minds!

What You’ll Need:

*Food processor or Blender
*Silicon baking mat
*Air tight container with lid
*Spatula

Ingredients:

*Mushrooms (chopped)
*Shallot (quartered)
*Garlic
*Walnuts
*Vegan butter
*Kidney beans (drained & measured)
*Chili flakes
*Vegan miso paste
*Balsamic vinegar (just a few drops)

**For mushrooms I used a mix of crimini and oyster mushrooms**

Instructions:

*Preheat the oven to 200c/375F

*Chop your mushrooms and lay them on the baking mat or parchment paper, whatever you use. Season lightly with salt and pepper. I also laid a sprig of rosemary on top because it just felt right.

*Bake for 20 minutes or until the water is nearly cooked out, and add shallot and garlic. It is important that the garlic is still in its skin or else it will cook WAY too fast. If you’ve already removed it, add it during the last 5 minutes of cooking, which is also when you’ll add the walnuts.

*Remove tray from oven and let cool slightly.

*Place the cooked ingredients along with the remaining ingredients into the food processor or blender and pulse a few times to get it going and then let it rip! I don’t have one of those fancy high-powered blenders (as you can see in the photos) so it took some time especially with the walnuts.

tip: if you have a mediocre blender, chop the nuts first!
tip #2: use that spatula to scrape the sides down as often as possible.

*Taste and add more seasoning if it’s needed. I recommend letting the vegan pate sit for about 10 minutes and then taste it again before adding more salt.

*Serve on bread or with crackers, or if you’re like my hubby…with a spoon!

What do you pair your vegan mushroom pate with? Wine? Whiskey? Sparkling water?

I washed it down with this delicious Imperial Stout (without finings) from a Romanian beer company. I enjoyed it ice cold and the beer was delicious and chocolatey and worked surprisingly well with my vegan pate! Have I accidentally made vegan…unfancy?

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