Nut pâté

Some people scoff at Nut pâté or nut roast, but if it is done right it wonderful (just because you are vegetarian or vegan, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a Sunday roast!)

1 med onion chopped finely

1 med carrot grated

3 med mushrooms chopped finely and/or some crushed up bits of dried mushrooms eg ceps, bolets (optional)

300g ground nuts: peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, chestnuts, cashews, pine nuts….

2 crushed garlic cloves

1 tsp mixed herbs

½ tsp hot paprika

1 tbs crushed dried basil

1tbs gram flour (chick pea flour)

1 tbs brandy

1 tbs soy sauce

2 tsp sweet paprika

50g breadcrumbs

S&p

4 tbs chopped parsley or 2 tbs dried

150ml veg stock

150ml red wine

Put the oven on to 180°C

Heat the olive oil in a medium pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms, cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and grated carrot, cook for a further minute. Add the veg stock and red wine, bring to the boil then add the dried mushrooms, herbs, spices and turn off the heat.

Put the nuts into a food processor if not already ground, whizz them up for a minute or so. They need to be well processed but some odd lumps are fine, they will give texture to the pate.

Mix everything together in the pan, add soy sauce, breadcrumbs gram flour and brandy.

Spoon the mixture into individual muffin cases (I use silicone moulds) cook for about 20 minutes. They are cooked when they are brown and feel spongy to the touch. They can be served cold as pate with salad or hot with roast dinner.

Humpbucke Hint
Wrap individual cooked nut roasts in puff pastry and cook for a further 15 minutes for a fabulous nut roast wellington. Slices of fried portobello mushrooms, onions or tomatoes can be added under or on top of the roast, inside the pastry.

Enjoy with a nice glass of Merlot.