Porcini-and-Pecan Pâté

By mirandavoegeli

Proving that vegetables can be as satisfying as meat, chef Sean Baker serves this mushroom pâté on the vegan "charcuterie" plate at his Berkeley restaurant, Gather.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, stemmed
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (see Note)
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon light miso
• 2 dry-packed sun-dried tomato halves
• Salt
• Toasted baguette slices, for serving

Preparation

Step 1

Put the pecans in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let stand for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a small heatproof bowl, cover the porcini with the boiling water and let stand until softened, about 15 minutes. Rub the porcini to remove grit; transfer them to a small bowl. Reserve the soaking liquid.

Cut the portobello caps in half and, with a sharp paring knife, trim off the dark gills on the underside of each one. Slice the caps into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.

In a bowl, whisk together the tamari, olive oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, rosemary and miso. Add the sliced portobellos and toss to coat thoroughly. Let stand for 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.

In a small saucepan, combine the soaked porcini and sun-dried tomatoes. Slowly pour in the porcini soaking liquid, stopping before you reach the grit at the bottom. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat until the tomatoes are tender, about 4 minutes.

Drain the pecans and transfer them to a food processor. With a slotted spoon, transfer the marinated portobellos, porcini and tomatoes to the processor; puree to a coarse paste, adding about 1/4 cup of the porcini cooking liquid. Add a little more of the porcini liquid if the mixture is too thick. Season lightly with salt.

Transfer the pâté to a crock and serve with toasted baguette rounds.

Make Ahead
The pâté can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Serve lightly chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutritional yeast is available at health-food stores and at vitaminshoppe.com.