Vegan terrines and pates

OK, I’ve been kind of lame about writing anything since Vegan MoFo ended. I will admit it was tough to make time to write about food every day but I’m hoping to get back to several posts a week. Anyway….


I’ve been obsessed with terrines of late. I’ve always been interested in terrines and pates, but it’s largely thought of as the realm of meat, but it doesn’t have to be. Gather restaurant in the Bay Area is making a name for itself with a Vegan Charcuterie plate that’s getting rave reviews from across the board but also angering a few carnivores who are upset about the use of the term charcuterie for something that’s vegan. Frankly I think a couple of years ago, when I did a lot of charcuterie, it would have gotten me righteously indignant as well. But charcuterie is part of Garde Manger, the cold kitchen of the classical French kitchen, and the realm of an overwhelming number of vegetable dishes, most of which can be made vegan.

First up, I have a mushroom pate, which is fairly basic and a good jumping off point. It’s a dish that’s easily modified. This was my first vegan pate attempt, but it was successful enough that I’m planning on making it as a starter for Christmas dinner. This is the basic version, but I’ll be modifying it for Christmas.

The second recipe is for a piquillo pepper and almond terrine, with Spanish pimenton and sherry vinegar. It’s almost like a solid form of Romesco sauce. In some ways, it’s also a jumping off point because it shows that any vegetable puree can be turned into a terrine by the magic of agar agar.

Mushroom pate

Mushroom pate

Ingredients
8 oz. cremini mushrooms
8 oz. white button mushrooms
2 tsps olive oil
½ cup cashews, toasted and finely ground
2 slices of sandwich bread, processed into bread crumbs, and then toasted in a dry skillet to dry them out
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 oz. Brandy, or wine, but brandy is really worth it
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Put the bread in a food processor and process to coarse crumbs. Put in a dry non-stick skillet and toast over medium heat until toasted slightly and dried out. Reserve
2. Toast the cashew pieces in the skillet and when slightly browned, remove and process to fine crumbs in the food processor. Reserve.
3. Put all of the mushrooms in the food processor and process until almost completely pureed.
4. Heat the olive oil in the skillet and add the mushrooms. Cook until they mushrooms give up their liquid and the pan is almost completely dry, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Deglaze with the brandy and cook it briefly to burn off the alcohol. Add the bread crumbs, cashews, and dried thyme. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.
6. Remove from the pan to a plate and allow it to cool for several minutes, until you can handle it. Roll it into a rough log shape (it should pretty much hold together). Put it in a long sheet of plastic wrap and roll it tightly into a log. Chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours. Remove and slice. Serve with mustard and cornichons, caper berries, or a few olives.

More mushroom pate

Piquillo Pepper Terrine

Ingredients
10-12 oz. jar of piquillo peppers, drained
½ cup of slivered almonds, toasted
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsps Spanish pimenton
1-2 tbsps sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of water
1 tbsp agar agar powder

Method
1. Combine the peppers, almonds, garlic, pimenton, sherry vinegar and ½ cuip of water to a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper. Season it generously, since it’ll be served chilled and that tends to mute flavors.
2. Bring the other 1 ½ cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan. Add the agar agar and cook until it thickens, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add the agar agar mixture to the blender and blend again. Taste for seasoning again.
3. Pour into a small loaf pan, or any other container. Place in the refrigerator for atl east two hours to set. Remove, slice it and serve with bitter greens in a sherry vinaigrette on the side and a few olives.

Piquillo pepper terrine on a large white plate

OK, I know I said serve it with bitter greens and those are cornichons.  But at least there's a little less white.

Thanksgiving

When it comes to Thanksgiving, I’m still pretty much a traditionalist. It’s a meal where everyone has pretty strong opinions of what’s appropriate and what’s not. This was my first vegan Thanksgiving, and except for not having a turkey, our meal was pretty traditional. We had seitan and chickpea cutlets with smoked mushroom gravy, onion, sage and apple dressing, cranberries, mashed potatoes with roasted garlic cashew cream, and roasted Brussels sprouts with onion and apple. The seitan and chickpea flour cutlets were something I came up with previously. The mushroom gravy was also a repeat, but I made a double batch and I used smoked mushrooms, which gave an incredible, almost bacon like flavor. One of the keys was making a batch of roasted vegetable stock, which is richer, sweeter and more intense than plain vegetable broth. I used it in the gravy and the dressing. In retrospect I should have used some to it in the cutlets instead of water, but they cutlets still had plenty of flavor. Hope the rest of you had a great Thanksgiving as well.

Roasted Vegetable Stock
Makes about 2 quarts

3 large onions, peeled and quartered
4 large carrots, halved lengthwise
6 button mushrooms, cleaned
3 leeks, washed thoroughly and halved lengthwise
Handful of celery leaves
4 stalks of celery, chopped into 2-3 pieces each
6 dried shitakes mushrooms
Oil

Toss the onions, carts, leeks and white button mushrooms with the oil (or spray with spray oil). Roast at 450 degrees until browned, around 30 minutes. Add to a stock pot with the celery leaves and stalks and the shitakes mushrooms. Bring to a boil and simmer for 60 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce

12 oz. whole cranberries
½ cup of sugar
Zest from two oranges
Juice from two oranges
1 inch piece of ginger grated

Combine everything in a sauce pan and cook until the cranberries break down, about 15-20 minutes. Cool. Serve room temperature or slightly cooler, but not too cold.

Onion, apple and sage dressing

1 large onion, finely diced
2 large or 3 small apples, diced (go for a mix if possible)
4 teaspoons dried sage
2 teaspoon of dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dry sherry
¼ apple cider
12 oz. dried bread
¼ cup olive oil
2-3 cups of roasted vegetable stock

Sauté the onion and apples in half of the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute and then add the sherry and apple cider. Cool slightly. Put the dried bread in a bowl and add the remaining olive oil. Add enough stock to moisten everything and have it come together, but be careful not to add too much to where it becomes a large sodden mass.

Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic and cashew cream

½ cup of cashew pieces
½ cup of water
4 heads of roasted garlic
2 ½ lbs. of yellow potatoes
Almond milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the cashews, water and garlic in a blender and blend until it’s creamy. Boil the potatoes until they’re tender. Mash them, add the cashew cream and as much almond milk as you need to make it smooth and creamy. Taste for salt and pepper.



Roasted Brussels sprouts, apples and onions

2 lbs. Brussels sprouts
2 apples, cubed
1 large onion cut into 3/8 inch wedges
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the Brussels sprouts into halves. Toss the Brussels sprouts, onion, and apples with the olive oil. Add the salt and pepper. Roast on a sheet pan for 30 minutes until they’re lightly caramelized.

Polenta and Mushrooms with Basil Almond Cream

There are two schools of polenta. Some people like it super rich with all kinds of added flavors and fat. And then there are the purists who like it cooked with nothing besides water and some salt and maybe pepper. I confess I used to like the super-rich way, where the polenta is really more of a vehicle for fat and other flavors. But a few years ago, I started to transition to the other school. Now I really polenta that actually tastes like polenta. It’s rich corn and slight sweet and almost nutty flavor is best unadulterated. Served plain, it’s also a great match for stews. In this recipe it’s paired with mushrooms and topped with a little bit of basil almond cream. You can use any type of mushrooms in this, but it’s best to use a mix. I use a mix of white, cremini, and shitakes in this, but you could add any wild mushrooms as well. I normally use sherry with mushrooms, but in this I use white wine because I like the brightness that it brings to the dish.

Mushrooms and polenta with basil almond cream
Serves 2 (can be doubled)

1 cup of polenta
8 oz. white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
8 oz. cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 oz. shitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons of dried sage
¼ cup of white wine
¼ vegetable stock
Salt and pepper

Basil Almond Cream
½ cup of almonds
½ cup of water
2 tablespoons of finely chopped basil
Salt

1. Cook the polenta. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add some salt. When the water boils, pour the polenta in, while stirring with a whisk so it doesn’t lump. Turn the heat down and let it cook, stirring often, for about 20-30 minutes, until it’s smooth and creamy (not gritty). You will likely need to add water to it throughout.
2. While the polenta cooks, sauté the mushrooms. Add the oil to a skillet (I use non-stock). Add half of the mushrooms and cook on medium high heat, until they start to give up their liquid and brown slightly. Add the other half of the mushrooms and salt and cook, shaking the pan every few minutes, until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and sage and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the white wine and let it reduce by about half. Add the vegetable stock. You want a little bit of liquid in this, but it shouldn’t be soupy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add the basil almond cream ingredients to a blender and blend into a smooth paste. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spoon some polenta into the bottom of two bowls. Add half of the mushrooms to each bowl and top with a dollop of almond cream.

Seitan and chickpea flour cutlets with mushroom gravy and twice baked potatoes

Tonight it’s vegan comfort food. Seitan and chickpea cutlets with mushroom gravy, twice baked potatoes made with a roasted garlic and dill cashew cream and a side of spinach in balsamic vinaigrette. It’s total mom food, or maybe something out of a vegan diner circa 1963 (if such a thing actually existed). It’s what a vegan Betty Draper would have cooked between cigarettes and big belts of cocktails. Although, maybe the Betty Draper version would have a side of cashew creamed spinach instead (mmm, make mental note, must make cashew creamed spinach sometime). The cutlets were featured in their own post, so you need to look the recipe up there, but the twice baked potatoes and gravy are featured here.


I specify amontillado in the mushroom gravy. It at all possible, track it down. Amontillado is type of sherry, that’s more full bodied and nuttier than the paler fino sherry. It’s a perfect foil for mushrooms. Amontillado comes medium dry and completely dry. Either will work, although I prefer the drier version for cooking. Sherry is under appreciated – go track down a decent one and give it a try.

1 recipe of seitan and chickpea flour cutlets, sautéed in olive or spray oil until heated through and lightly browned

Mushroom Gravy
1 shallot, finely minced
4 oz. white mushrooms (about 6 large ones), finely minced (like for duxelles)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 cup white flour
1/3 cup sherry (preferably amontillado, but dry fino will work as well)
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon nooch (nutritional yeast)
1 teaspoon white miso
1 1/3 cups of vegetable stock

Sauté the shallots, mushrooms and garlic in the oil. Add the salt to pull the moisture out of the mushrooms and shallots. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and the pan is almost dry. Add the flour and cook for a minute or so stirring constantly. Add the sherry, dried thyme, nooch, miso and stock. Stir to combine. Turn to low heat and cook until it thickens and reserve, keeping warm on low heat. Add water to thin it if it sits a while and thickens up.

Twice baked potatoes with Roasted Garlic and Dill Cashew Cream

4 russet potatoes, baked, cut in half and cooled slightly

Roasted garlic and dill cashew cream
2/3 cup of cashew pieces
2/3 cup water
¼ cup roasted or white wine braised garlic
Juice from half a lemon
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon dill
Salt and pepper to taste

Baked the potatoes and cool. If you’re in a rush, microwave them for 15-18 minutes and then finish them in a 450-500 degree oven (they’ll take about another 15-20 minutes). Microwaves are an invention of the devil, but they’re good for things like this.

Cut the potatoes in half and let them cool slightly. Make the cashew cream while they cool. Combine the cashew cream ingredients in a blender and blend until thick. Scoop the potato flesh out of the potatoes but be careful not to tear the skins. Put the flesh in a bowl and add the cashew cream. Mash thoroughly and taste for salt and pepper (adjust as you see fit). Stuff the potato shells with the mixture and place on a baking sheet. Put into a 400 degree oven and bake until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes.

Blanched spinach with balsamic vinegar

1 bunch of spinach, washed, cleaned, blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds, cooled and fnely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoons of olive oil
¼ cup white wine
1 tablespoon of good quality balsamic vinegar

Cook the shallot and garlic in the oil in a small pan. Let it brown for a few minutes. Add the white wine and continue to cook until reduced by three quarters (trhe shallot should be soft). Add the spinach and heat through. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook 20 seconds. Serve immediately since the vinegar will discolor the spinach if it sits too long.

Smoked Portobello Mushroom, Piquillo Pepper and Kalamata Olive Pizza

Who doesn’t like pizza? But pizza without cheese? Absolutely. If you think about it, pizza is really just a flat bread with toppings, which is common throughout the world. Even though most Americans think tomato sauce and mozzarella, pizza can be a lot more than that. All you need is some kind of base sauce to top the dough, which can be as simple as olive oil flavored with garlic or chiles, and a few toppings that both contrast and mix with each other. This pizza uses a vegan “aioli” as a base and a mix of smoked Portobello mushrooms, sweet piquillo peppers, and salty Kalamata olives for toppings. If you have the dough made, it all comes together pretty quickly.


The base for the pizza is vegan aioli, which will strike my non-vegan friends as wrong and awful. Its main resemblance to aioli is its creamy texture. It’s an incredibly flavorful puree of silken tofu, roasted garlic, lemon, basil, oregano, and capers. It works to hold the toppings in place as well as to seal the dough so some of the wet ingredients don’t make the dough soggy. It’s adapted from the ingenious Millennium Cookbook. As a recent vegan, but long time foodie, I’m astounded at how clever it is and how good it is. Don’t think of it as an aioli substitute – think of it as an amazing sauce that has a creamy texture similar to aioli. It’s astoundingly good.

The aioli has a lot of lemon juice which gives it a bright acidity and makes it a great contrast to the various toppings. The portobello mushrooms are smoked over hickory and add a smoky earthy element. If you don’t have a smoker, you can just use plain portobellos. Roasted piquillo peppers add some sweetness and the Kalamata olives add a salty, briny note that cuts through the other flavors.

Smoked Portobello Mushroom, Piquillo Pepper and Kalamata Olive Pizza

Makes 4 dinner plate sized pizzas.

For the dough:

2 cups white flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of dried yeast
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1 & 1/3 cups of water

Mix the dry ingredients and then add the water. Mix together and then need on a floured board until smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes. Put the dough into an oiled bowl and let it rise for several hours. (I make it in the morning before I go to work and let it sit all day. Some people will say it may over rise but I think it’s fine for pizza.)

For the vegan aioli:

1 - 12.3 oz. package of silken tofu
1/3 cup of roasted garlic
2 tablespoons of white miso
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1-2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped (or cheat like I do and use the frozen cubes of basil from Trader Joe’s – I use four cubes)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Lemon zest from 1-2 lemons finely minced
½ cup of lemon juice

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

For the toppings

2 Portobello mushrooms, smoked for 30 minutes over hickory or other wood, sliced
4 piquillo peppers, julienned
16 kalamata olives, pitted and cut in half lengthwise

To assemble:

Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees. Divide the dough into four equal parts and roll each into circles about the size of a dinner plate.
Add a few tablespoons of the aioli to each and spread it evenly leaving a ½ inch border.
Divide the other toppings evenly among the pizzas. Optionally spray each with a little olive oil.
Bake at 500 degrees for 5-8 minutes depending on how crisp you like the dough.

Soy Pickled Shitakes

I will admit that I stole these from David Chang’s Momofuko cookbook (which is an incredible book and well worth buying). But they are so incredibly good and packed with flavor that everyone should know about them. These have become a staple for me and can be used in a variety of ways. I use them in soups, stir fires, as a topping for noodles or even as a stuffing for steamed buns. This recipe makes about a quart and they keep for weeks (maybe more) in the fridge. They take about an hour and a half to make, so you might need to plan ahead. But once you have a batch in the fridge, you can combine them with other staples like noodles, sesame seeds, and green onions for a quick dinner.

Soy Pickled Shitakes

About 1 quart

2 oz. dried shitake mushrooms

1 cup brown sugar (or use an less processed sugar like Turbinado)

1 cup of rice wine vinegar

1 cup soy sauce

2-3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into coin sized slices

1. Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 20 minutes until soft. Remove the mushrooms, squeeze them out a little bit, and cut them into slices about ¼ to ½ inch wide. Remove the stems if they’re tough. Reserve two cups of the soaking liquid (be sure to strain it carefully since you may end up with dirt and debris at the bottom of the soaking bowl).

2. Add the remaining ingredients to a pot and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved.

3. Add the mushrooms to the pot and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil turn it down to a very low simmer.

4. Simmer for 40-45 minutes. Remove from heat and let them cool in the liquid. I normally remove the ginger but you can leave it in if removing it seems too difficult.

5. When cool, transfer the mushrooms and pickling liquid to a quart canning jar or other container and place them in the fridge.