By Salina Milstein
I discovered this amazing pâté in Kauai. It is an adapted version of a recipe from the vegan cookbook, “Blossoming Lotus.” I’m not vegan, but I sure love the vibrancy of this versatile food. You can serve the pâté on toast, use it as a salad dressing or pasta sauce, or put it in puff pastry and bake.
Ingredients
1 cup almonds, raw, unsalted
¼ cup shallots or sweet onions, sliced
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp Herbs de Provence
½ tsp salt
¼ cup water
1 clove garlic
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup basil
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
Instructions
Several days before you are ready to eat, put your almonds in a mason jar or a similar open-air container. Fill the jar 50-60% with the almonds, and then the remainder with clean (ideally, filtered) water. It will bubble up a little, and you should clear the water out at least twice a day for two days.
There are a few options for preparation. My preference is to cook the mushrooms with the shallots and garlic (all finely chopped), along with salt and pepper. Once the mushrooms are soft, combine this mixture with the other ingredients and blend in a blender or food processor until it has a pesto consistency.
An option to deepen the flavor of the pâté is to roast the garlic. Coat the garlic with olive oil, roast it in a little pan at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, until it looks soft and can be mushed easily.
You can also prepare this dish raw. Chop the mushrooms finely and blend all the ingredients.
