Mushroom Pate

Mushrooms are perhaps.. no wait.. they definitely are one of my favourite things on the planet (after chocolate of course!). The button mushroom and I share a kind of partnership that is straight from the heart. We’ve promised to be together in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer.. until death do us part. It had always been faithful to me continues to adorn my various experiments with aplomb. Needless to say, you will see many a post dedicated to my muse.

My mushrooms recently came to my rescue at the time when I needed them the most. The timings of my new job were punishing. I would wake up at 5.30 am and would have to leave in an hour. Very often my body and my mind refused to listen to the alarm which promised a little time for coffee and a toast before the long commute. Breakfast is almost always at my work desk and sometimes there would be no breakfast as I would’ve woken up too late to fix anything for myself. I kept the fridge stacked with loafs of bread, sandwich spreads, salami slices, and a few other things that were available in the market. For some reason, there would still be this void in my heart and I could not understand why that was.. until I found the mushroom pate.

A simple mushroom spread that takes no longer than fifteen minutes to make, made me so unbelievably happy. Why wouldn’t I be? It would be a yummalicious mushroom sandwich first thing in the morning.

What you will need

1 Packet of mushrooms – more the merrier

1 Medium onion, finely chopped (although I like to put more)

A few cloves of garlic finely chopped

Butter

Cream

Cheese

Salt, pepper, paprika (and other seasoning to taste) 

Start with melting the butter in a pan. If you don’t want to use butter, you can use olive oil as well. However, butter gives it a richer flavour. Saute the garlic and the onions in the butter until the onions are golden brown. Throw in the mushrooms in the pan. The mushrooms need not be chopped finely. Season the mixture with salt, pepper and other seasonings as you like. I have a chili oregano seasoning which I bought from Fab India that I absolutely love. It gives the pate a great kick. However, keep in mind that you will be adding cheese in a bit which will add to the content of salt. Hence, keep a strict watch before you add the salt. You can always add some more later as need be.

Once the mushrooms are cooked, add some cream and cheese and mix well. Check the seasoning. Once you feel you have the flavour you want, put the mixture in your food processor. Churn it to get the consistency you like. I usually make it a little coarse. Once you have the perfect consistency, put the pate in an air tight box and refrigerate. The pate is ready for devouring in an hour.

The pate also makes an extremely elegant party dip. Pate can be served as a topping for crackers or garlic bread as an appetizer with drinks. However, it never lasts in my house for more than a day. My husband and I are to blame for that.