“Faux Gras”: Vegan Lentil Pecan Pâté
The great thing about this Faux Gras recipe is that it's vegan, but even omnivores and hard-core carnivores will love it! It makes 3 1/2 cups or 56 tablespoons. For a party, you can probably count on 4 tablespoons per person or about 14 people. You can also make a batch, serve half, and freeze the other half. Genius.
Servings: 56 tablespoons
Calories: 36kcal
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup dry green or brown lentils or 2 1/2 cups cooked lentils ( about 2 15-ounce cans, drained)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or plant butter
- 1 small onion preferably Vidalia, peeled and diced
- 12 medium-sized cremini mushrooms stem ends trimmed and sliced (8 oz)
- 3 cloves garlic mashed to a paste
- 1 cup chopped pecans toasted
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 teaspoons freshly chopped thyme
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped sage plus leaves for garnish
- 2 teaspoons bourbon Cognac, or brandy
- 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar raw sugar, or turbinado sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the salt and lentils. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the lentils are tender, 15 to 17 minutes. You should have about 2 cups. (You can also use drained canned lentils.) Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is clear and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, another 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. Remove from the heat to cool.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment combine the cooked and drained lentils, pecans, lemon juice, soy sauce, herbs, bourbon, brown sugar, and cayenne. Add the cooked and cooled mushroom mixture. Process until completely smooth.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. (The mixture needs to be highly seasoned.) Transfer the pâté into a small bowl or bowls and refrigerate for a few hours, until firm. You can also portion it into freezable containers and save it for later.
Nutrition
Calories: 36kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.3mg