White truffle forest mushroom pâté

By: Mo Wyse, Shannon Martinez
From: Smith & Daughters
Serves: 4-6
Photographer: Bonnie Savage

Like many of Shannon’s customers, I’ve followed her cooking wherever she went. Admittedly, there was a dark period in my life where I would dress up in different disguises and go to the local pub five times a week so I could sit at the bar and eat this pâté by myself – slowly, because I never wanted it to end. Jokes aside, this dish is what ultimately won me over in terms of Shannon’s sorcery. I’d never experienced anything like it. Needless to say, if you had me at gunpoint forcing me to choose, this would be my ultimate favourite dish.

This pâté lasts for ages in the fridge. We recommend saving some for the week ahead and spreading it on absolutely anything (crackers, veg, sandwiches), or mixing in some sour cream for a creamy mushroom dip, or using it as a pasta sauce - it’s so versatile!

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
250g	firm tofu, cut into 8 pieces
1	fresh bay leaf
	beef stock
60ml	olive oil
1	onion, chopped
2	large garlic cloves, crushed
50g	pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
15g	dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 125 ml warm water
440g	button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon	thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs, for garnish
60ml	pedro ximenez sherry, (see note)
2 tablespoons	soy sauce
1 tablespoon	white truffle oil
1 teaspoon	sherry vinegar
	melted butter, to cover
	toasted bread slices, to serve

Method

Place the tofu, bay leaf and enough stock to cover in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer on low for 5 minutes.
Drain the tofu and press with paper towel for about 10 minutes to remove excess liquid.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until caramelised, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and pecans, and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.
Strain the porcini mushrooms and set aside the liquid. Add the porcini and button mushrooms to the pan along with the thyme, cook for a few minutes then deglaze the pan with the PX sherry.
Add 80 ml of the dried mushroom soaking liquid and cook until completely reduced. Season well with salt and pepper.
Transfer the ingredients to a blender and add the soy sauce, truffle oil and sherry vinegar. Blend until completely smooth.
Fill ramekins nearly to the top with pâté, cover with melted butter and add a thyme sprig.
Set aside in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm up.
At Smith & Daughters we serve our pâté with slices of toasted baguette.