Red Lentil Pâté
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: 30 mins
Active: 10 mins
Makes: 2 cups
By Kate Ramos
This spreadable vegetarian pâté combines the earthy flavors of lentils, mushrooms, and onion, with some smoky paprika added in for a Spanish twist. It’s a versatile recipe you can use as a dip for vegetables, or spread on a toasted baguette and topped with poached eggs for breakfast.
What to buy: Red lentils actually are more orange than red. They can be found in the bulk section of many grocery stores or at Middle Eastern markets.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cremini mushrooms
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups cooked red lentils (about 3/4 cup dried)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once oil shimmers, add onion and mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft and beginning to brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes.
- Add all spices and stir to coat onion mixture. Add white wine and deglaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits sticking to the bottom. Cook until wine is reduced by half.
- Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Remove bay leaf and transfer mixture to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Add cooked lentils and process until mostly smooth, with some small pieces remaining, about 1 minute. Season well with kosher salt. Spoon into an airtight container and place in the refrigerator to cool. Serve over toast points or in our Red Lentil Pâté Bruschetta with Poached Eggs recipe.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
Am looking for an alternative to meat pate which are not heavy on the fat so this one interests me. Do you think this can be frozen? Would love to have pate to hand and not have to run out and buy it?
rrml@yahoo.com
Rosemaryrl,
While we didn't try freezing this, I don't think it would work. I fear it would be a watery mess once defrosted. You can make it up to 5 days in advance and keep in the fridge.
Hi Rosemaryrl,
While defrosting a pate can get a little wet, lentils freeze very well in a soup form so I'd give it a try, freeze it thin enough to cut or break off a piece the size you need, defrost in fridge to reduce the moisture and enjoy when thawed through. If there is too much wetness in the dish, just pour it off. You may lose some intense spicy flavours, but it's worth a try. I've frozen vegetable pate's and they do get wet if defrosted too fast (it was with yellow squash), but they were still great.
This inspired me to make a version with brown lentils, which I seasoned with indian spices (cumin, turmeric, hot chile, garlic). While it tastes great, without going into detail, visually it is just gross! I'm just glad a made a test batch beforehand. Red lentils will definitely be the way to go unless it's for your eyes only.
Is there any way to substitute the oregano and mushrooms for something else-- I'm not too fond of either, though I'll eat them if I must.
Also...smoked paprika? Where can I find that?
Garlecchina,
The oregano could either be left out or you could substitute a couple tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley. As far as the mushrooms, they tend to lend some meatiness which would be hard to substitute, flavorwise, but if you wanted to go in a different direction you could sub some cooked butternut squash or even soft cheese, like cream cheese or goat cheese. We found smoked paprika at our local Whole Foods, but if you don't have one in your area, you can order it online from Penzeys Spices: http://www.penzeys.com
Would it be very bad to use plain paprika - I am not much on smoked flavour and I don't know if I could find it here in The Bahamas.
Just made this to put on little mini-toasts as an appetizer yesterday. The color wasn't quite as vibrant as in the picture (where it's shown with the poached egg bruschetta), but I suppose it looked more like an actual liver pate! The taste is fantastic - the wine really makes it delicious. I just used regular paprika since I couldn't find the smoked kind, and it seemed fine to me...
Looks like a winer,I like lentils , will make to have in my upcoming trip,
so I'll stay away from Continental food, crackers, cheese, cut up fruit and a glass of vino.
This is terrific stuff. I used quite a bit more smoked paprika than the recipe calls for--probably closer to 2 teaspoons --and added about 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes a for a bit of heat. I'm not sure if salt was omitted intentionally, but it really needs salt.
I think you could probably make a really good soup by simply adding stock....