There are dishes that appear on both sides of the Pyrenees without anyone having planned it that way, and this mushroom walnut pâté is one of them. I first came across it in the Limousin — earthy, rich, and considerably more satisfying than its ingredients alone would suggest. It turned up again in Andalucía, which shouldn't have surprised me. Walnuts and mushrooms are both at home here, and the Spanish instinct for blitzing things into spreads means this kind of pâté fits naturally into the repertoire. It is also, as vegetarian starters go, one that nobody at the table is going to feel short-changed by.

Use brown chestnut mushrooms if you can find them — they have more depth than the standard white button variety and hold their flavour better once cooked down. The soy sauce (or tamari, if that's what you have) is not optional. It looks like an unlikely addition and it is doing more work than anything else in the bowl.

Mushroom Walnut Pâté — The Flexible Chef

Ingredients (one ramekin)

• 200g brown chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 75g walnuts
• 1 shallot or small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
• 1 small clove garlic, raw
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
• Small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Juice of half a lemon
• Fresh black pepper

Method

Cook the mushrooms — melt the butter (or heat the olive oil) in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot or onion and cook for 3–4 minutes until soft. Add the mushrooms, turn the heat up slightly, and cook until they have released their liquid and that liquid has evaporated — around 8–10 minutes. You want them dry and concentrated, not wet. Add the soy sauce or tamari for the last minute of cooking. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

Toast the walnuts (optional but recommended) — put the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until they smell nutty and are just beginning to colour. Watch them — they go from toasted to burnt quickly. Leave to cool before blending.

Blend — put the mushroom mixture into a food processor with the walnuts, raw garlic, parsley and lemon juice. Blitz to a smooth pâté. Taste — it will almost certainly want more black pepper and possibly a little more lemon.

Serve — at room temperature, spread generously. Keeps in the fridge for 3–4 days, covered.

This mushroom walnut pâté is featured in my Pâté & Rillettes Recipes, a complete collection of homemade pâtés and rillettes from the Limousin to Andalucía.
Find more recipes and food adventures here.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef