Vegetarian mushrooms & almond paté

My love for mushrooms continues to grow day by day and I am enjoying more and more the challenge of trying new dishes with these wonderful products. I love the fact that they need very little to grow, they’re so rich in nutrients, fibers and minerals and so fast to grow. Moreover, they are the perfect replacement for meat due to their wonderful  “meaty” texture, something which can be quite appealing if you, like me, want to eat as a (part-time) vegetarian (flexitarian).
This pâté is the perfect example of a good meat substitute. It’s tasty, filling, nutritious and fantastic as topping on bread or crackers.

Today I ate it for lunch on rice crackers and enjoyed it VERY much. My creamy paté was the base and then I added sliced avocado, spicy arugula, sprouts and slivered almonds, plus salt and freshly ground black pepper for added flavour. Very tasty.

For this pâté you can also use other types of nuts such as cashews, which have a delicious creamy taste. I used almonds, which are “closer” to my Italian roots. It is important to first soak them in water, preferably all night long. If you don’t have a lot of time 1.5 to 2 hours is usually enough.
For a vegan version you can use coconut yoghurt.
And now: to the kitchen! 🙂

Vegetarian mushrooms & almonds pâté (paté vegetariano di funghi e mandorle)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
350 gr. mixed mushrooms
10 gr. dried porcini mushrooms
120 gr. soaked peeled almonds or cashew nuts
6 tablespoons of cooked beans or chickpeas
2 tablespoons of full-fat yoghurt
fresh thyme sprigs 5-6 plus a few for garnish
sea salt
black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Soak the almonds or cashew nuts for a few hours.
Soak the porcini in hot water for about 10 minutes.

Chop the shallots and the garlic cloves and fry them gently in two tablespoons of olive oil.
Add the sliced mushrooms along with the coarsely chopped porcini and let everything cook really well. Make sure the excess moisture evaporates.

Purée the nuts with the thyme (only the leaves), the beans/chickpeas, the cooked mushrooms and the yoghurt.
Add salt and black pepper to taste and mix further.

Transfer the pâté to a serving bowl, garnish with thyme sprigs and serve with fresh or toasted bread.