Lentil-Pecan Pâté

Lentil-Pecan Pâté
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Football season has officially begun and my Chargers kick-off the San Diego preseason in less than one hour. I've readied myself for the game by preparing the Lentil-Pecan Pâté from the September 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times.

I never enjoyed pâté as an omni, but this recipe is really tasty. It's savory and smooth with a tiny bite at the end. The more you eat, the more complex the flavors seem to get as they layer on top of one another.

I've garnished it with a chiffonade of fresh sage and I'm serving it with sliced apples, rice crackers, and my favorite brand of local-brewed beer.

Num. Num.

According to the article, the recipe is a "perennial favorite among Cafe Flora diners," and I can taste why. If I had to choose one word to describe it, it'd be 'sophisticated.'  

Get out yer smoking jacket and follow along:

Lentil-Pecan Pâté
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked through
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
  
• 1 medium onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)
  
• 3 cloves garlic, miced (1 Tbs.)
  
• 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
  
• 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
  
• 1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces
  
• 2 Tbs. mirin (rice wine)
  
• 1 Tbs. light miso
  
• 1 tsp. umeboshi (sour plum) paste (I couldn't find this in my local market, so I subbed it with 1 Tbs. plum sauce) or sherry vinegar
  
• 1/2 tsp. salt
  
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1. Place lentils, bay leaf, and 2 cups water in saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-low, and simmer, covered, 15-20 minutes, or until lentils are very soft. Cool, then remove bay leaf.
   
2. Heat olive oil in skillet over med heat. Add onion, and cook 5-7 minutes or until soft and translucent, stirring once or twice. Reduce heat to low, and cook onion 15-20 minutes more, or until browned and caramelized, stirring occasionally. If onion starts to stick, add 1-2 Tbs. water, and stir to remove any bits of onion from bottom of pan. Add garlic, thyme, and sage, and cook 1 minute more. Cool.
   
3. Place lentils and onion mixture in food processor with pecans, mirin, miso, umeboshi paste, salt, and pepper. Puree until smooth. Chill 2 hours, or store up to 3 days in fridge. To serve: Scoop pâté onto plate and surround with crackers and fruit.

I offered to let The Husband take some to his poker game tonight and his response was, "No way, I'm not sharing this!"  I think that's a thumbs up from him, too.

Go Chargers!