Lentil Paté Food

LENTIL PATE

Steps:

• Bring lentils, stock, 1 3/4 cups water, onion, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat; simmer, adding water as needed (about 1/2 cup at a time) to prevent lentils from drying out, until they are tender, about 30 minutes. Discard onion, thyme, and bay leaf; set lentils aside.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots, and cook, stirring often, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook until mushrooms have softened completely and shallots are deep-golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add sherry, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Remove from heat.
• Reserve 2 heaping tablespoons of shallot mixture for garnish; refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. Process remaining shallot mixture, the lentils, and nuts in a food processor until coarsely combined. Transfer to a large bowl, and stir in the egg whites.
• Line a 5-by-10-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing 3 inches to hang over each long side. Spoon lentil mixture into pan, and fold plastic over top. Top with another loaf pan filled with heavy cans. Refrigerate 4 hours (or overnight).
• To serve, unwrap top, and invert onto a platter. Bring to room temperature. Garnish with reserved shallot mixture and thyme sprigs. Serve with crackers.

VEGAN LENTIL PATE (AKA FAUX GRAS)

Steps:

• Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft. Add the lentils, bay leaf, and water, stir, and bring to a boil. Cook for 10-20 minutes, until the lentils are tender, then drain.
• Grind the cashews in the food processor until they resemble a coarse meal.
• Pour the lentils and onions into the food processor. Remove the bay leaf. Cover and begin to puree, slowly adding the vinegar, remaining olive oil, tarragon, salt and pepper. If the mixture seems too dry or thick, add a little more olive oil, and taste to adjust seasonings.
• Scrape the contents of the mixer into a Tupperware container and chill for at least 2 hours.

RED LENTIL PATE

Steps:

• Wash lentils quickly, drain, and place the lentils in a 3-4 quart saucepan.
• Add the water or stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Chop the onions and the garlic very finely.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil.
• Add the garlic, onions, and herbs and saute over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes, or until the onions and garlic are browned and fragrant.
• Oil a 9-inch shallow baking pan or loaf pan and sprinkle with half the bread crumbs, completely coating the inside of the pan.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Chop the parsley finely.
• When the lentils are done, stir them thoroughly to mash, add the onion mixture, bread crumbs, and parsley.
• Season to taste with sea salt, vinegar, and pepper.
• Pour the lentil mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until set.
• Allow to cool to room temperature before slicing.
• Enjoy!

RED LENTIL PATE

Steps:

• In a 3-quart saucepan over high heat, combine the lentils with 4 cups water and bring it to a boil. Skim and discard any foam and add the bay leaf. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes; drain.
• While the lentils simmer, in a small saute pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and pine nuts and cook until the onion softens and the pine nuts begin to color, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, coriander, caraway, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat.
• In a food processor, add the lentils and onion mixture and puree until smooth.
• Transfer to a serving bowl and serve at once. May be covered and chilled and served cold. Serve with pita toasts or crudite.

FAUX GRAS

Steps:

• Wipe the mushrooms clean. Slice off a bit of the stem end (the funky parts) and slice them. Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet or wide saucepan. Add the onions and garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions become translucent, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they're soft and cooked through, another 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
• In a food processor, combine the cooked lentils, nuts, lemon juice, soy sauce, rosemary, thyme, sage or parsley, Cognac (if using), brown sugar, and cayenne. Scrape in the cooked mushroom mixture and process until completely smooth. Taste, and add salt, pepper, and additional cognac, soy sauce, or lemon juice, if it needs balancing.
• Scrape the pâté into a small serving bowl and refrigerate for a few hours, until firm.

RED LENTIL & SWEET POTATO PâTé

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook slowly until soft and golden. Tip in the paprika and cook for a further 2 mins, then add the sweet potato, lentils, thyme and stock. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 20 mins or until the potato and lentils are tender.
• Add the vinegar and some seasoning, and roughly mash the mixture until you get a texture you like. Chill for 1 hr, then drizzle with olive oil, dust with the extra paprika and sprinkle with thyme sprigs, if you like. Serve with pitta bread and vegetable sticks.

LENTIL PâTé WITH CUMIN AND TURMERIC

Steps:

• Place the lentils in a medium saucepan with the water and bay leaf. Cut the onion in half, and add one half to the pot along with the crushed garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 35 to 45 minutes until the lentils are tender. Remove the onion half, and taste and adjust seasoning. Drain and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter or oil a 5-cup paté tureen or baking dish, or bread pan. Finely chop the other half of the onion. Heat the peanut or canola oil over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Stir in the garlic and spices, and cook, stirring, until the mixture is fragrant and the spices are sizzling, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, and continue to stir over medium heat until it has darkened, one to two minutes. Stir in the cilantro. Remove from the heat.
• Place the lentils and eggs in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Turn it on, add the olive oil and lemon or lime juice and process until smooth. Add the onion mixture, and pulse to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Scrape into the prepared baking dish and cover tightly.
• Bake for 40 minutes until just set. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. For best results, refrigerate overnight. Serve at room temperature or cold.

MUSHROOM-LENTIL PATE

Steps:

• Cover the lentils with an inch of water in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring almost to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cook until tender, about 20 minutes, adjusting the heat so the water is barely bubbling. Remove from the heat, stir in the thyme sprigs and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
• Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat until warm. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil, the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and cook until translucent, 7 or 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes longer. Add the mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, toss to coat with the onions, cover partly and cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid, about 10 minutes. Uncover and cook until most of the remaining liquid evaporates. Add the sherry and cook until it just glosses the bottom of the pan, about 1 minute. Cover the skillet and remove it from the heat.
• Pulse the pecans in the bowl of a food processor until they are finely ground. Add the onion-mushroom mixture and process until just combined. Drain the lentils, reserving the cooking liquid for another use, if desired, and add them to the food processor along with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Process until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and pulse just until combined. It should be about the consistency of peanut butter.
• The pate can be served in a bowl immediately, garnished with additional thyme, if desired. It can also be molded. Transfer the pate into a small loaf pan or bowl lined with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. When ready to serve, unmold the pate onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Garnish with additional thyme, if desired.

WALNUT-LENTIL PATE

Steps:

• Chop up the onions in a food processor. I like mine super-fine for this.
• Heat the oil in a large pan, and let the onions cook for a VERY long time, about an hour, until they're very brown.
• While the onions are cooking, cook the lentils. Lightly salt about a quart of water and soak the lentils for about 20-25 minutes until soft but not too soft.
• Grind the walnuts in a food processor until finely ground, but not hard enough to make the oils separate.
• Add the onions, and all the olive oil they sauteed inches Pulse a few times.
• Add the lentils and sea salt, pepper, and paprika and pulse until desired consistency is reached.
• Serve with rice crackers, celery, and carrot sticks or other goodies good for dipping.

LENTIL CAKES (PATTIES)

Steps:

• Place lentils and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain.
• In a large bowl, mix together the cooked lentils, milk, wheat and barley cereal, eggs and walnuts. Season with onion soup mix and poultry seasoning. Mix well using your hands, as the mixture will be very thick. Let stand for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.
• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Use an ice cream scoop to portion out balls of the lentil mixture. Drop the scoops into bread crumbs, and coat while flattening into patties. Fry burgers in the hot skillet until nicely browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the patties.

LENTIL PATE

Steps:

• Start by chopping up the onion and crushing the garlic. (This doesn't need to be done really thoroughly, as it's going in the food mixer later).
• Fry the onion and garlic in the oil. (The recipe said 1 tablespoon, but I've always used a bit more).
• Once the onion becomes translucent, add the spices and fry them for a little bit too.
• Add 180g of lentils, and the vegetable stock, and sprinkle some salt and pepper if desired.
• Leave the lentils to stew for about 20 minutes over a moderate heat until practically all the liquid is absorbed.
• Take the lentils off the heat and strain them, transferring into a food mixer.
• Add the mango chutney, the egg and the milk, and then blend until making a smooth paste.
• Pour into a lined loaf tin (about 3 inches by 8) and transfer to the oven for 40 minutes at 200 degrees C (Gas mark 6).
• Once removed for 20 minutes, turn out onto a wire rack (but leaf the baking paper stuck around to hold it together. Chill for a few hours and then serve with salad, pitta and more mango chutney.