Kelly Rossiter
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We've skirted around the issue of family members becoming vegetarian when others remain firm carnivores. Well, I expect that a lot of parents of teenagers are even more nervous of having their children announce that they have become vegan. Of course, vegans not only don't eat meat, they don't eat any of the by-products of animals such as eggs, or milk. Thinking about all of the substitutions vegans have to make when using cookbooks, I once commented to my daughter that I thought it would be hard work to be a vegan. She gave me one of those withering looks that only daughters can give and said "If that's how you eat every day, it's not hard, it's normal". As she pointed out, both my mother and mother-in-law are totally flummoxed by my vegetarian children, but it's no problem for me. I guess it's just a matter of degrees.
I came across a new cookbook for vegans entitled Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Looking at the recipes, it seems that the stereotype of vegans eating plain brown rice and bland tofu are long gone. Of course, many of the dishes that I make regularly are vegan, I just don't think of them that way. So when I looked through this book I found plenty of things that I would be happy to make without even thinking about the designation "vegan". I'm going to be spending the week at the cottage with a couple of vegetarians, so I think I'll get the chance to try a number of these things out, although I don't think the grocery store in our tiny town is going to be stocking seitan any time soon.
I made this very easy pate in advance to take with me to the cottage to have as part of a light lunch the day after we arrive. I think this would be a great picnic recipe as well as a party dish. The taste definitely developed over the day, so it's a great make ahead thing. If you want, use regular button mushrooms, they would work just as well. Be careful toasting the walnuts, as they can burn quite easily.
Walnut Mushroom Pate
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 cup lightly toasted walnuts
3/4 cup cooked cannellini beans
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Up to 1/4 cup cold vegetable broth, or water
1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 3 to 5 minutes until translucent, then add the garlic, thyme, tarragon, salt and pepper, and cook for another minute. Next add the mushrooms and cook for 7 to 10 minutes until they are very soft, lowering the heat if necessary to prevent them from burning.
2. While the mushrooms are cooking, place the walnuts in a food processor or blender and process until very fine. Add the cooked mushroom mixture to the walnuts in the food processor, along with the balsamic vinegar, beans and remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Process until smooth, adding the vegetable broth 1 tablepspoon at a time as needed. Continue to puree the ingredients until the pate resembles a smooth, thick and spreadable paste. Scrape mixture into an airtight container and chill for at least an hour before serving, to allow the flavours to meld.
Difficulty Level: Easy
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