Faux Gras Pâté
This vegan pâté takes inspiration from classic French-style foie gras, using mushrooms, walnuts, and lentils to recreate its depth and richness. Flavoured with rosemary, thyme, soy, and cognac, it’s an elegant spread that’s just as happy on toast as it is on a dinner-party platter. A touch of beetroot adds colour and intrigue without dominating the flavour.This recipe makes 10 servings of 50 grammes per serving.
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp beetroot purée | made from cooked beetroot
- 80 g walnuts | toasted
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 100 g brown onion | small; peeled and diced
- 2 cloves fresh garlic | peeled and sliced thinly
- 12 chestnut mushrooms | small ones! thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cognac | or Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 200 g puy lentils | cooked weight
- 1 pinch ground black pepper | to taste
Instructions
- Make the beetroot purée: blend cooked beetroot, often for sale in the salad section of most supermarket, in a high speed blender. If you do enough of it, you could use a stick blender. I like it spread on toast under the pâté as a sandwich filler.1 tbsp beetroot purée
- Chop the walnuts into little pieces and toast in a dry pan on a low heat. Remove from the pan and hold on a plate. Once you've toasted them, get them away from the heat, that's what I'm saying!80 g walnuts
- Heat half the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan and when the oil is medium warm, add the onions and garlic slices and cook until transparent, soft and caramelised.2 tbsp olive oil, 100 g brown onion, 2 cloves fresh garlic
- Turn the heat up slightly, and when the pan is a little hotter, add the mushroom slices and leave them. They will brown nicely. Moving them inhibits this browning. After a few minutes, turn the mushrooms quickly in the pan, to brown the other side of the slices. Leave the mushrooms alone. You could spoil this part of cooking if you keep fiddling! However tempting it is!12 chestnut mushrooms
- Deglaze the pan: add the wine and soy sauce. Stir around and wait for the liquid to evaporate.1 tbsp cognac, 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- Add the dried herbs and stir. Cook everything together for a few minutes, allowing enough time for the herbs to rehydrate.1 tsp dried rosemary, 1 tsp dried sage, 1 tsp dried thyme
- Turn the pan off and let it sit there for a minute or two whilst you get the Magimix or food processor out.Put the lentils into the processor, add the chopped nuts and pulse the ingredients together.200 g puy lentils
- By that stage, the hot pan will be cooler to handle, so add the ingredients of the pan, being careful to scrape all the lovely brown bits (fond) into the Magimix. Add the beetroot purée.Blend until super smooth. Taste. Adjust the seasoning.1 pinch ground black pepper
Nutrition
Serving: 50gCalories: 166kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 8gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 106mgPotassium: 165mgFiber: 7gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 7IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 31mgIron: 2mg
Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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© The Golden Polar Bear, 2025. Recipes and photography by Julia Savory. If you share this, please pass it along with kindness and if possible share a link back to this site. #ForTheAnimals