Silky-Easy Vegetarian Pâté With Roasted Cauliflower and Pecans Recipe

“You realize, this sort of tastes like pâté,” my spouse, Kate, instructed me when she took a chunk of the roasted-cauliflower purée that I made for Critical Eats. I hadn’t realized it till she stated it, however damned if she wasn’t proper! Most vegetarian pâté recipes use mushrooms as a base, which is smart, given sure similarities of mushrooms to meat. However, as Kate’s remark made clear, I would inadvertently chanced on a wonderful different—roasting my cauliflower had introduced out a deeper, meatier umami taste, and the vegetable additionally proved to have an extremely clean, pâté-like texture when puréed. All I wanted to do was tweak it barely to push it additional into pâté territory.

For my primary roasted-cauliflower purée, I roast the brassica in a scorching oven till it is well-browned. That course of additionally dehydrates it, which is right for a thicker texture much like that of pâté. Then I sauté some onion and garlic in butter till each are softened and fold within the roasted cauliflower. I prime the vegetable combine with cream (or hen inventory) and recent thyme, then simmer all of it collectively for a couple of minutes earlier than mixing it right into a purée.

In fact, utilizing hen inventory wasn’t going to work for this vegetarian recipe. Fortunately, I choose cream anyway—it provides a fatty richness that is consistent with the feel and taste of pâté. That stated, these searching for a very vegan different can use home made vegetable inventory rather than cream, and vegetable or olive oil as an alternative of butter. It will not be fairly as wealthy or pâté-like as my vegetarian rendition, nevertheless it’ll nonetheless work (and style nice).

Step one to reworking my purée into one thing extra instantly recognizable as a pâté was to work in some nuts, which assist to thicken it into a variety you’ll be able to slather on crackers or bread. I in the end selected pecans as a result of they work properly with the cauliflower, although walnuts may simply take their place. Earlier than including them to the pot with the onions, cauliflower, and cream, I soak them in water to melt and assist them mix in when it comes time to purée the combination.

The second step was so as to add a small splash of brandy to the onions and garlic as soon as they’d softened, then prepare dinner it down till totally evaporated. The brandy coaxes out a taste profile harking back to a traditional liver pâté, which nearly all the time incorporates some sort of alcohol, whereas concurrently serving to to counter among the cauliflower and onion’s inherent sweetness.

The third step was to scale back the liquid within the pot extra totally, to keep away from a “pâté” that is as free as a purée. For a final touch, I made a decision so as to add a splash of soy sauce, which underscores that umami depth much more.

You should use any sort of blender to purée the combination—simply be sure that to take action till it is clean and even. The pâté would possibly seem slightly free, nevertheless it simply must be chilled till agency earlier than it is served. You possibly can velocity this course of up by spreading it on a parchment-lined baking sheet (1 / 4 sheet pan is the most effective dimension). Press some plastic straight towards the floor to forestall it from browning and forming a pores and skin, which might occur wherever air touches the pâté’s floor.

And that is it—it could not be less complicated. The feel is as clean and silky as essentially the most refined foie gras pâtés, although slightly softer, because it would not have as a lot protein, nor as excessive a proportion of fat that solidify when chilled. Nonetheless, it is thick sufficient to ship an impressively pâté-like expertise, and it is definitely much better than a variety of the vegetarian choices bought at markets.

In case you’re like me and have a variety of vegetarians in your prolonged community of family and friends, that is by far one of the considerate issues you’ll be able to function a snack in the course of the holidays. That means, it will not be simply the meat-eaters who’ll really feel like they’re getting a small chunk of luxurious.

December 2016