Lentil Walnut Pate

It is officially the holiday season, and as a self-proclaimed foodie, I think it’s the best time of the year! Making fun food to share with loved ones is one of my greatest pleasures and ensuring everyone can join in the deliciousness is a favorite challenge. Enter this veggie pate.

Pate originated as a means of using up the less desirable animal parts, which often are very tasty, but need additional ingredients to be properly eaten. If you have friends and family who are no longer eating animal products, offer this to them (and your carnivore eaters) and be pleasantly surprised. 

Delicate but flavorful, made with pantry ingredients itt tastes best several days after it's made, so perfect to just have in the refrigerator or part of your make ahead items. I won’t say it tastes like the meat version but I will say you will enjoy it!

Lentil Walnut Pate

(makes 1 cup)

⅓  cup dried green lentils

1 clove garlic, peeled and lightly smashed

1 bay leaf

2 cups water or stock

¼ cup walnuts, chopped fine

½ cup onion, diced

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter or vegan butter (if you use butter, add 1 teaspoon olive oil to keep butter from browning too quickly)

2 tablespoons of sherry or marsala

1 teaspoon miso (white is preferred, but any miso will work)

Salt

Pepper

Place lentils, garlic, bay leaf and water in a saucepan with a lid and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Lentils should  be soft but still hold their shape. Remove from heat, remove bay leaf and set aside. Do Not Drain.

In a heavy frying pan, saute onion in oil or butter with a pinch of salt over very low heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring every five minutes, allowing the onions to brown to a deep caramel color. Halfway through this process, add crumbled dried thyme and stir to combine. When it is done, add walnuts and cook another 2-3 minutes until they begin to toast and you can smell them. Turn the heat up to high and add the sherry or marsala and cook until the liquid has evaporated, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Turn off heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Drain lentils but reserve water, place lentils in a food processor along with cooked onion walnut mixture and pulse to combine. Add miso and pulse again. As you taste it, the flavor of the sherry or marsala may seem strong, but it will dissipate as you age the pate in the refrigerator. At this point you can add a tablespoon of lentil liquid at a time to create a smooth puree, but add slowly, you don’t want it to be too liquidy. Add salt and pepper to taste, remembering that lentils will soak up a lot of salt. If it tastes really mild, add more salt. I added nearly 2 teaspoons and after it sat for three days to allow the flavors to meld, it was perfect. It will last up to seven days in the refrigerator if covered.

Hugs!