Vegan Walnut Pâté

VEGAN WALNUT PÂTÉ

Recipe by Philipp of Exceedingly Vegan

• 1/2 cup walnuts

• 2/3 cup water

• 2 tbsp corn starch

• 2 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (unsweetened)

• 1/2 tsp miso paste

• 1/3 tsp garlic powder

• 1/3 tsp onion powder

• 1/3 tsp smoked paprika

• Pepper to taste

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This is really super easy! Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend for a couple of minutes until you get a very smooth paste.

Then pour the mix into a pan on medium high heat and heat up. Make sure you stir constantly so it doesn't burn. After a while the mixture will change consistency and turn into a paste. Cook for a couple of minutes longer and then transfer it to a flat dish. Pat down and even out with a spoon so you get a smooth surface.

Let set in the fridge for 1.5 to 2 hours. Serve on toasted baguette. Enjoy!

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This was a Recipe Challenge recipe.

This is the reason for a recipe challenge! I didn’t have much hope for the Vegan Walnut Pâté. That’s because it uses a technique that I don’t usually see in the spread-dip recipes. Usually you just blend things up in the food processor, but this calls for you to blend dry ingredients in the food processor, including the walnuts, and then add water and cornstarch and cook it on the stove. Sounds more like a recipe for pudding than a dip.

However, this fits my definition of a recipe, that is, more than the sum of its parts! The pâté (love making those accents) “sets up” nicely and it actually tastes quite similar to meat-based pâtés, not that I can remember very well, and your carnivorous but plant-curious friends might like it. Give it a try—it would be nice for your New Year’s spread! By the way, I left out the 1 tbsp of olive oil and it was delicious without it.

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“Exceedingly Vegan” is 100% plant-based and, while not 100% oil-free, oil seems to be at a minimum and those adhering to WFPB can either pick and choose recipes, or adapt them. For example, Philipp, the creator of the website, gives “some olive oil” as an ingredient in a pasta sauce recipe, and you could easily substitute broth, sherry, or an oil-free sauté method. The featured recipe for Walnut Pâté has 1 tbsp oil as an ingredient, but the oil is not a crucial part of the technique. You could leave it out or substitute sherry—that might taste even better! (I didn’t try the recipe either way so you’ll have to report back any results.)

Philipp is clearly a Brit (e.g., references to “courgettes” instead of zucchini, and to “bangers and mash”). But he explains any unusual ingredients to an American audience, and also offers alongside every recipe a metric converter (though you may have to supplement with an online search, as i did in converting grams to cups),

There are lots of interesting recipes to explore here, including vegan adaptations of menu items  like chicken filets, fish fingers, and sausages. These don’t start with a commercial product, but make the dish from scratch with whole food ingredients. 

Philip has other features on his website, such as “Tips,” “Eating Out,” and “Vegan Products.” He doesn’t appear to be selling the products, just reviewing them, with one exception—his own line of tahini-based sauces which he sells on the site. I love making tahini-based sauces so this gives me one more reason to regard Philipp as a kindred spirit. 

Enjoy exploring this website!