Wild Mushroom Pâté
Ingredients
- 6 cups sliced mushrooms 6 large, wild Agaricus Augustus mushrooms or domestic Portobello mushrooms, or 1 1/2 lbs cremini mushrooms
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp soya sauce
- 1 medium onion chopped finely
- 2 tsp butter
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh herbs such as marjoram thyme or rosemary
- 1/2 cup walnuts or pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 2 Tbsp 35% cream
- 1/4 cup Marsala or sherry
- Pinch of cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- First, cook the mushrooms in a dry frying pan (you don’t need to do this with Portobello or cremini, but fresh wild Agaricus are so juicy) over medium high heat. Once all the liquid has evaporated, add butter. Let sizzle for a couple minutes. Stir in garlic and soya sauce, and cook for another 2 minutes, or until mushrooms are brown and beginning to stick to the pan. Remove pan from heat, transfer mushrooms to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
- In the same pan, melt 2 teaspoons butter over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 7 minutes. Stir in fresh herbs and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Put nuts or seeds in the bowl of a food processor and grind to the consistency of coarse crumbs. Add mushrooms and onions and grind until only pea-sized pieces of mushroom remain.
- Cut butter into cubes and add to processor in batches, pulsing after each addition until butter is completely incorporated. With machine running, pour in cream and Marsala and process until pâté is smooth. (If it seems dry, add a touch more cream.) Add seasonings and pulse to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Store covered in the refrigerator and eat within one week. Alternatively, freeze for up to three months.
- Warm up to room temperature before serving with seedy crackers or toasted baguette and cranberry chutney.
Notes
There is a small chance that you will be going to a bonfire, a house party, or a happy hour gathering in the next couple of weeks. You might need to bring something.
I am here to help.
Wild mushroom pâté is a nice addition to the communal table. In my house we usually make it in the fall, when the Agaricus augustus are popping up. Known as “The Prince,” as in “the prince of mushrooms,” this large, aromatic beauty is a wild version of the domestic Portobello mushroom.
We used to dry the harvest, but in the last couple of years we’ve been cooking the fresh mushrooms in butter, garlic, soya sauce, and cream, then freezing them in tubs for the winter. They become the base for the pâté. Not to worry, if this method of storing the harvest is not your practice, store-bought Portobello or creminis will work beautifully.
As a special bonus, I’ve included a recipe for seedy crackers – full reveal: the recipe has been published in a couple of cookbooks I’ve written, but as they’re both out of print now, I’ve received special dispensation to share the recipe here.
Seedy Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup corn flour
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup flax seeds
- 1/4 cup canola or grapeseed oil
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp anise seeds
- 1 tsp ground juniper berries
- Sea salt to taste
- 1 cup boiling water
Instructions
- Cut four sheets of parchment paper to fit 9 x 13-inch (22.5 x 32-cm) baking trays.
- Stir dry ingredients together. Add oil and stir to combine. Add boiling water and mix thoroughly. The dough will be quite runny at first, thickening as the corn flour absorbs the water.
- Spoon one third of the dough onto each of three pieces of parchment paper. (It’s easier to spread the dough on the paper before moving it to the baking tray.)
- Using the fourth piece of parchment as a cover, spread dough as evenly as you can with your hands or a rolling pin. Don’t worry if there are small gaps in the dough.
- Bake at 300F (150C) for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool on baking racks. When at room temperature, break the crackers into large pieces. Will keep for several days in an airtight container.
