Guest Post! Axiom at Home: Mushoom and Walnut Pate

Hey Everyone! Yesterday marked the one month anniversary of LittleOwlCrunchyMomma. I am so glad you have joined me thus far. It has already been quite a wonderful, exciting and fun adventure. 

To celebrate, I am having a party! Today I have invited Linda from Axiom at Home to join us. She has decided to share with you all a fabulous recipe. I love Linda. I love her blog. I love her sense of humor, her recipes, her tips on natural skincare, and all the other  great stuff you can find on her site. If you haven't already, I highly encourage you to check it out. Subscribe to her via email or "like" her on Facebook. 

And now, without further ado, I present to you Linda from Axiom at Home: (*insert applause here*)


Hello, I'm Linda from Axiom at Home. I am very excited that Jacquelyn asked me to stop by and share a recipe with you all. I hope you enjoy!

This post is evidence I am a chicken... You see, I've been trying to find a way to incorporate organ meats into my diet, but I have a lingering fear of all things subconsciously labeled "innards".

Okay, I know it's silly--I mean, I used to eat McDonalds for goodness sake... pink slime anyone? But that doesn't change anything now... So, after someone recommended a chicken liver pate as a good start on my journey to this interior realm, I chickened out, and made this instead. 

Ingredients:
1 cup walnuts, read about soaking nuts here
1/2 cup shallots, chopped
About 4 ounces Shiitake mushrooms, chopped
About 4 ounces white (Crimini) mushrooms, chopped
About 4 ounces baby Portobello mushrooms, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, chopped
2-3 tbsp of fresh parsley, chopped
5-6 pieces of fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup organic, grass-fed butter (try this if you cannot find a quality local source)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil (or walnut oil)

How To:
1. Toast Walnuts: Spread walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside.

2. Cook Mushrooms: In a large saute pan, cook shallots in butter over medium heat until translucent. Then add mushrooms, garlic, and seasonings/ fresh herbs. Cook until liquid has evaporated, stirring occassionally. You'll probably want to lower the heat a bit as you simmer, down to medium low.

3. Process: Add walnuts and oil to a blender or food processor or magic bullet and mix until a paste is formed. Then add the cooked mushroom mixture and blend until mostly smooth. I like to leave a few chunks here and there, but it's mostly pretty smooth.

4. Cool: Fill oiled "molds", cover and refrigerate for a minimum of three hours or overnight. I used little ramekins, you could use little custard cups or small regular bowls, or get fancy and use themed molds/ bowls. Be sure to grease-- oil works better than butter. I filled three ramekins of the size shown in the picture below. 

5. Extract and Serve: When ready to serve, remove from molds and invert onto a serving platter. I use a skinny, sharp knife and a large, shallow serving spoon to extract my pate and that works great. Eat with crackers or use as a spread for vegetables, sourdough bread, hamburgers, etc. Get creative! 

Comments:
This is very easy to make and makes a nice presentation, perfect for a party or holiday gathering. Also, you can make it in advance and it should be fine about a week in the refrigerator, although I personally would probably not make it any sooner than a day or two in advance just to keep it as fresh as possible. Also, I think one of these times I make it I will try to coat it with crushed walnuts and see how that changes the presentation.

This recipe serves about 15-20 people as an appetizer, assuming of course that you made a few other appetizers. The amount made fills three of the ramekins as shown in the picture above, and I think that's about a perfect height. Try serving with rye crackers or this or this. Total time on this (chopping and cooking) about 30 minutes, probably a little more your first time.