The Vegetarian Way to a French pâté: brown or green lentils blended with walnuts, shallot, thyme, quatre épices and Cognac, sealed under butter in little pots. One of the cheapest things you can put on a cheese board. From The Clean Table: An Herbalist's Kitchen in the Creuse.
80gdried brown or green lentilsor 200 g cooked lentils, or 1 x 400 g tin, drained
1bay leaffor cooking the lentils
40gwalnutslightly toasted
30gsalted butterfor cooking
1shallotfinely chopped
1garlic clovechopped
1tspfresh thyme leaves
2tbspCognacor Armagnac or any brandy
1/4tspquatre épicesor a pinch each of pepper, nutmeg, clove and ginger
1/4tspblack pepperfreshly ground
50gsalted buttersoftened, for blending
1tsplemon juiceoptional, to brighten
30gsalted buttermelted, to seal the tops
saltlentils need a little more than the liver pâté; taste first
Instructions
Rinse the dried lentils and simmer them with the bay leaf in plenty of unsalted water until very soft, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain well, remove the bay leaf and let them steam dry for a few minutes. (Using cooked or tinned lentils, skip to the next step.)
Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan, until they smell toasty. Tip them out to cool.
Melt the 30 g of butter in the same skillet and cook the shallot gently until soft and golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme for 30 seconds.
Add the lentils and stir for 2 minutes. Pour in the Cognac and let it bubble for a minute. Take off the heat and cool for 5 minutes.
Put the lentil mixture, walnuts, quatre épices and pepper in the food processor and blend until smooth. Add the softened butter and the lemon juice and blend again. Taste and add salt a pinch at a time.
Spoon into small covered pots or ramekins, smooth the tops, pour the melted butter over to seal, put the lids on and refrigerate overnight.
Take it out 20 minutes before serving and spread on baguette.
Notes
For a holiday table. Make it up to three days ahead. Sealed under butter it keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge; once opened, eat it within 2 days.Dairy-free. Use a good olive oil in place of all the butter, and seal the tops with a thin layer of olive oil.Walnuts from the Limousin. Walnuts grow all through this part of France, and they give the pâté the richness that liver gives the meat version. Leave them out for a nut-free table and add an extra tablespoon of butter.A word of care. The usual advice in pregnancy is to skip all pâté, vegetable pâté included.Galenic note. Galen counted lentils cold and dry. The shallot, garlic, thyme and warming spices balance them, and the butter and walnuts add the moisture they lack.Nutrition is an estimate per serving, including the sealing butter.