Vegan Mushroom Pâté

August 5, 2013 · by ·

Vegan Mushroom PateI 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.

Toasting Walnuts for Pate

Then., I sautéed up some mushrooms along with some shallots, garlic, ginger and spices. The smell was already so good.

mushrooms for vegan liver

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!

vegan-banh-mi

 

 

Vegan Mushroom Pâté
 
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This vegan mushroom pâté goes perfectly with my vegan banh mi sandwiches!
Author:
Recipe type: vegan, dip, spread
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. Heat up your skillet on medium high heat.
  2. Toast the walnuts in the dry skillet for about 3 minutes. You do not want to burn the nuts.
  3. Remove the walnuts from the pan and set aside.
  4. Keep the pan on the heat.
  5. Add the oils to the pan. Let the oil get hot.
  6. Add the shallots, garlic and ginger to the pan. Cook a couple of minutes.
  7. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook another few minutes. Stir in the tamari, salt and pepper.
  8. Once cooked, turn off the heat.
  9. Place both the walnuts and the mushroom mixture in your food processor and process well. It should be a paste.
  10. Taste and add additional salt and pepper as necessary.
  11. Enjoy!

Vegan Mushroom Pate

 

Filed Under: Appetizers, Gluten Free, recipes, Side Dish, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Spinach and Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

June 19, 2013 · by ·

http://www.salutbaramericain.com/

I never used to be a salad person. I would eat it and enjoy it, but I never really sought it out or really appreciated it. It wasn’t until I couldn’t eat salad that I started to crave it and get more creative with salad. Crohn’s has kept me away from raw vegetables on and off at different spurts in my life. So here I am now, Crohn’s free, and taking full advantage of this lull in my life. Summer has come on with full force and with that, we have some beautiful veggies showing up in the markets. Baby spinach is one of my favorite greens. You may have noticed that it shows up in some of my favorite dishes.

Since it’s summer time, I like to eat more fresh dishes that don’t require heating up the house.

I think it was my sister that introduced me to this Spinach and Beet Salad with Chèvre and Walnuts. I ate it on one of my visits back home to Minneapolis. Since then, I order this salad on whatever menu I see it on. I decided to make it myself. I had recently received some beautiful beets in the CSA and I had everything else in the fridge.

The spinach I used in this salad was prewashed and ready to go. I roasted some beets and I toasted some walnuts in the oven.

I served the salad with a red wine, basil  and shallot vinaigrette that I quickly whipped up in my Cuisinart Mini-Prep processor.

red-wine-vinaigrette


Spinach and Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Salad
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 small bunch of beets (about 4-5 small beets)
  • 1 bag of pre-washed baby spinach
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 small red onion, sliced thinly
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • sea salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • goat cheese (Chèvre)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. Trim off the ends of the beets and place in foil. Sprinkle olive oil over the beets and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap in the foil.
  3. Roast the beets in the oven for about 40 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven and cool.
  5. While the beets cool, place the walnuts on some foil and toast in the oven for about 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and cool.
  7. When cooled down, slice the beets thinly.
  8. Layer the salad - first the spinach, then the beets, then the onions and walnuts, then the goat cheese.
  9. Sprinkle on a dressing of your choice. I would recommend a red wine vinaigrette.

 

Red Wine, Basil and Shallot Vinaigrette
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Salad Dressing
Ingredients
  • 1 shallot
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 15 basil leaves
  • 5 tbsp. red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp. honey
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 tsp. sea salt
  • 2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Place everything except for the olive oil in to the food processor.
  2. Start blending the mixture.
  3. Slowly pour in the olive oil and let the mixture emulsify.
  4. Transfer dressing to a container.
  5. Enjoy on your favorite salad.

spinach-and-beet-salad

 

Filed Under: Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, Salad Dressing, Salads, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Spinach and Walnut Pesto

April 24, 2012 · by ·

Some of you may already know about my love for pesto. Those of you that know me will also know that not everyone in my life shares this love of pesto. So I keep trying to come up with ways to change up the pesto in hopes that J might become a pesto convert. The good thing is that he is willing to try anything.

While watching Lidia Bastianich the other night, I came across her making some spinach pesto. Looked so good! I decided to give it a whirl.

I decided to wing it as far as a recipe goes. Taste as you go along. Measurements below are estimates.

Spinach and Walnut Pesto
Inspired by Lidia Bastianich

Ingredients:

1 bag of washed spinach leaves (standard Trader Joe’s size)
2 cups washed basil leaves (loosely packed)
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of chopped toasted walnuts
Olive Oil
Salt to taste

Place the various leaves in the food processor. Turn it on.

Add the garlic while it’s going.

Add in the walnuts.  Chop Chop

Slowly add in the olive oil. Let it get to the consistence you like.

Taste it a bit. Add some salt. Just a couple of teaspoons.

I like to make a lot and then freeze it for future meals.

Enjoy it over anything you like. We had it with some pasta. Delish!

Filed Under: Dinner, easy, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian · Tagged: , , , , ,
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