Mushroom, Walnut and Dill Pâté with Crusty Garlic Bread

This was a recipe I tried out on Valentine's day earlier this year that was very successful. I apologise for the lack of photos accompanying this recipe but I will add more later when I get around to making this again.

Ingredients-

For the Pâté - 
125g green lentils

150g Mushrooms, finely chopped

80g Walnuts, finely chopped

2x Garlic Cloves, finely chopped

1x Large Onion, finely chopped

3tsp Fresh Dill, finely chopped

3x Sprig of Thyme, finely chopped

Juice of 1 Lemon

Flour to thicken

Olive Oil to fry

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Garlic Bread - 

1x French Baguette, Thinly Sliced

3x Garlic Cloves, peeled

Olive Oil

Method- Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add in the lentils, cooking for around 30 minutes until the lentils are very soft. In the meantime preheat the oven to 140°c and lightly brush the slices of bread with a little oil, place onto a sheet of greaseproof paper and heat in the oven for about 10-15 minutes until the bread becomes golden brown and crusty. Once removed from the oven, vigorously rub a clove of garlic onto the hot bread, the crustiness of the bread will pretty much grate the garlic and the heat will cook the small amount that is left on the bread's surface, set aside to cool.

Add the onion, garlic, herbs and a little oil to a large frying pan and fry over a gentle heat for around 5 minutes. Next add in the mushrooms and walnuts and fry for a further 10 minutes until the mushrooms are soft. Once the lentils are cooked enough, drain away excess water and add the softened lentils into the frying pan. Due to the consistency of the lentils you should now be able to roughly mash up the mixture using a wooden spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste along with the juice of one lemon, ensuring to filter out the seeds. 

This will be the finished Pâté mixture, it may however be a little too moist though due to the amount of water taken on by the lentils during cooking. To remedy this, gradually add plain flour to the mixture, one tablespoonful at a time - sprinkling evenly over the mixture and stirring well after adding each spoonful. Once the correct consistency has been achieved dish out the mixture into small bowls, allow to cool and serve with the crusty garlic bread and side salad.

More to follow!

JAB