This deliciously simple appetizer or canape is one that can be prepared in advance and will be a real crowd-pleaser. Even the biggest meat-eaters will come back for seconds of my simple mushroom pate.
sponsored by The Pawn Wine Co, Adelaide
Why I Love This Recipe
- simple
- vegetarian friendly
- cost effective
- quick to make
- crowd pleaser
This mushroom pate with a delicious pinot noir jelly topping is just the sort of recipe you need up your sleeve for any occasion. Whether it's a work dinner, Christmas get together or a date night there isn't anyone that won't love this dish. It only takes 30 minutes to make and is vegetarian-friendly too meaning you can ditch the obligatory hummus or beet and goat cheese salad and serve everyone a delicious canape of mushroom pate and pinot noir jelly
How To Make Simple Mushroom Pate
It's in the name "simple mushroom pate"! To make this delicious pate you simply follow 3 steps
- Chop - chop up your mushrooms, garlic & thyme
- Cook - in a frying pan with a little butter until the mushrooms caramelize and dehydrate a little
- Season & Blend - allow to cool slightly and blitz in a food processor, taste, add seasoning & cream cheese and blend until smooth
That's pretty much it - once you have done that then add it to a jar or ramekin and allow to cool and set before topping with your pinot noir jelly (see below).
All that's left to do is get some crusty bread and maybe a pickle or cornichon and get stuck in!!
Pinot Noir Jelly
This part is what takes this simple mushroom pate from a tasty snack or starter to something your friends will assume was made in a fancy restaurant or gourmet deli. The pinot noir jelly isn't just a delicious accompaniment to the mushroom pate but it also helps to seal the pate. Sealing the pate stops the air from getting in and changing the colour and ultimately the texture too.
4 simple ingredients and you will be on your way
- pinot noir - I used a lighter more fruit forward one from The Pawn Wine Co
- sugar - castor sugar is best but granulated will also work
- gelatin - I find leaf form to the easiest to work with
- vinegar - use red wine vinegar but if you don't have any some rice vinegar or white wine vinegar will also work
Alterations To Your Mushroom Pate
For my simple mushroom pate, I have used shiitake mushrooms as I wanted to be a little "fancy". If you can't get shiitake mushrooms or your budget doesn't call for it then you can make this with simple brown mushrooms, flat cap mushrooms or a mixture of multiple types.
Add a little spice to the dish with a pinch of cayenne pepper
Nuts are also commonly used in making mushroom pate - walnuts or cashews are probably best
Substitute cream cheese for vegan cheese to make it vegan friendly
Can't survive without a meat component then you can use some bacon in the recipe too - once fried then pat dry to remove excess fat (I know, I'm usually saying fat=flavour but the fat will go hard once cooled so best to dry the bacon first).
Tips, Tricks & FAQ's
This particular recipe is vegetarian friendly but does contain butter & cream cheese. These could be easily substituted with vegan products to make it suitable for both vegetarians and vegans alike.
This simple mushroom pate can keep for up to 5 days in the fridge but can also be frozen for up to 3 months. The key focus when storing the pate in the fridge or freezer is to make it airtight.
The classic topping on pate is clarified butter - clarified butter is when the milk solids are removed from the butter. Do this by slowly heating up butter and when you see the cloudy foam like matter on top use a spoon to gently remove it.
Wine Pairing
Well.................... I think the clue to what wine we are pairing is in the beautiful pinot noir jelly we made 😉
The Pawn Wine Co sister label - El Desperado makes great everyday drinking wines and really affordable prices. The El Desperado Pinot is simply crushable! The wines were brought about in 2011 what Australian winemakers and lovers will recognize as the vintage from hell. Many of Tom's top wines were sacrificed that year and El Desperado was born - out of sheer desperation! As he says himself, the label was never thought about before then but it worked out in his favour and each year they have gone from strength to strength providing us with serious quaffability!
Tons of berry fruit, cranberries, black cherries and balsamic along with a layer of earthiness, spice in the form of anise and well-balanced acidity. It's a bottle you open and in the blink of an eye, it's empty as it's 10/10 for crushability.
Alternative Mushroom Dishes
A fan of mushrooms and inspired by my simple mushroom pate? Check out these recipes below to get your fungi on in the kitchen 😉
Mushroom, Leek & White Miso Tart
Happy Cooking & Happy Eating Friends!!
Ingredients
Pate
- 300 g shiitake mushrooms
- 150 g cream cheese
- 4 cloves garlic
- 50 g shallots
- 50 g butter
- 1 tsp thyme
- salt
- pepper
Jelly
- 150 ml pinot noir
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 gelatin leaf
Essential Tools
- Chef Knives
- Chopping board
- food processor
- non-stick pan
- measuring/weighing utensils
- saucepan
- mixing bowl w/ water
- wooden spoon
Instructions
Pate
- Slice mushrooms & shallots. Chop thyme and crush garlic.
- Cook mushrooms, shallots, garlic & thyme in butter on medium heat for 10-12 mins until they just start to caramelize and excess water has dehydrated
- Allow to cool slightly and blend in food processer
- Add cream cheese, pinch of salt & pepper and blend until smooth
- Place in ramekin or jars and leave in the fridge to cool for minimum 1 hour
- Make jelly and add to the top of the pate (after they have chilled) and leave jelly to set for 2 hours in the fridge before serving
Jelly
- Bloom gelatin aka place in cold water for 5 minutes
- Add sugar, wine & vinegar to a saucepan and on medium heat bring to a simmer
- Simmer for 8 minutes, remove from the heat and allow to cool/partially set whilst the mushroom pate sets in the fridge
- Pour the jelly over the pate and allow to set in fridge for minimum 2 hours
Notes
Tips/Tricks
- I used shiitake mushrooms as I like their earthiness but you can use any type you like
- you can add a little truffle or truffle oil to the blended mix to add extra flavour the pate
- add a slice or 2 of bacon if you can’t live without meat! Just drain the fat as best as possible before adding to the mix
- mushroom pate will keep for about 5 days covered in the fridge
You say this is vegetarian and say you can sub tis and that to make it vegan. But you make no mention of the gelatin in the toping!
Rachel,
My apologies for not getting back to you sooner - I have been away so all social media stuff got pushed to the back. It appears there is a section that I wrote that never got published - I had mentioned alternatives to gelatin that are suitable for vegetarians to use. It was in a draft but looks like I didn't include it in the actual post. Thanks for bringing this to my attention and I'll rectify it ASAP
this sounds great but i am a fan of a clarified butter topping rather than a jelly one 🙂
you can definitely sub a butter topping if you prefer - enjoy!