Mushroom Pate

mushroom pate on sourdough bread

Simple. Easy to make. And delicious. I could quite happily eat this from the bowl until none is left. But it’s also quite good on fresh sourdough bread or toast.

We used, what is possibly my favourite bread, French Campilou, a sourdough loaf from Barbakan (www.barbakan-deli.co.uk).

French Campilou bread :: Barbakan Deli, Manchester ::

I am not that good at measuring things out, and for a recipe like this I don’t think you need to be exact. I used a glug of wine, and roughly the right weight of creme fraiche and cream cheese, but just added more to suit how I wanted it to taste. These are the joys of cooking.

Mushroom Pate

Serves 4 -5

1 small onion or 2 medium-sized shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200g (or more) fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tbsp dry white wine
75g creme fraiche
100g cream cheese
large knob of butter
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the onion and garlic and cook until soft.

Add the mushrooms, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat until the juice from the mushrooms has almost gone.

Pour in the glug of wine and cook until its evaporated. Transfer the mushrooms mixture to a bowl and let it cool.

When it has completely cooled, you can blitz it up – a coarse texture is nice. Finally, you stir in the creme fraiche and cream cheese and mix until its all incorporated.

Taste it and adjust the seasoning if needed. At this point you can put it in the fridge for a couple of hours to let it set, or just smear it onto some fresh bread and enjoy!

This recipe is taken and adapted slightly from A Year of Family Recipesby Lesley Wild of Bettys (www.bettys.co.uk).