I was fasting the other day in preparation for a test, and all I could think about was bánh mì. I walked by the bánh mì cart near my office and my mouth was salivating. I decided that no matter what, I would be making bánh mì sandwiches for dinner this weekend. A while back, I made some vegan bánh mì here on the blog. From experience though, I knew it was missing something. It was missing the traditional pâté. It adds another layer of flavor to the sandwich and some needed moistness that pairs well with the other ingredients.
This time around, I knew I had to make my own baguettes AND make some pâté. Pâté is traditionally made from pork and chicken liver in these sandwiches. You all know that’s not my style. I’ve had some vegetarian eggplant liver before, but I’m the only one in this house who loves eggplant. I decided to make this amazing spread out of mushrooms and walnuts.
I toasted the walnuts in my cast iron skillet.
Then., I sautéed up some mushrooms along with some shallots, garlic, ginger and spices. The smell was already so good.
Once the mushrooms were done, I placed everything in my Cuisinart food processor and processed away.
It came together fast and made a huge difference in our bánh mì sandwiches! This would also be perfect as a dip with crackers or in place of traditional meat liver on shabbat and holidays!
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- ¾ raw shelled walnuts
- 1 tbsp. olive oil or other neutral oil
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp. ginger, chopped
- 10 oz. mushrooms - sliced
- 1 tsp. tamari sauce
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. salt
- additional salt and pepper to taste
- Heat up your skillet on medium high heat.
- Toast the walnuts in the dry skillet for about 3 minutes. You do not want to burn the nuts.
- Remove the walnuts from the pan and set aside.
- Keep the pan on the heat.
- Add the oils to the pan. Let the oil get hot.
- Add the shallots, garlic and ginger to the pan. Cook a couple of minutes.
- Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook another few minutes. Stir in the tamari, salt and pepper.
- Once cooked, turn off the heat.
- Place both the walnuts and the mushroom mixture in your food processor and process well. It should be a paste.
- Taste and add additional salt and pepper as necessary.
- Enjoy!
About Hindy Garfinkel
Delicious vegan food, like this pate, is one reason why the number of vegans has doubled in less than 3 years. Here are two uplifting videos that will help people understand just some of the implications of this lifestyle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKr4HZ7ukSE and http://www.veganvideo.org
Sounds so savory and tasty! Perfect on that sandwich!
What an interesting craving! This looks like it would be great on a sandwich.
great minds – I share a vegetarian chopped liver pate inspired by my grandfather’s in my new Joy of Kosher cookbook out this fall – also built around toasted walnuts and mushrooms.
I cant use walnuts but this looks good, maybe with almonds. Can also use it for that old fashioned Beef Wellington!
Nuts are magical for making vegan pate and spreads.