12/8 Get Your Pate On
I received a copy of the visually appealing and sassy vegan cookbook, Blissful Bites by Christy Morgan. We decided to jump in and try one of the recipes for tonight’s Half Marathon Celebration party. Sandy whipped up Morgan’s recipe for “Save a Duck Pate”. It is the first dip recipe I have ever seen that utilizes tempeh and I think that is the greatest idea ever.
Photo By: S. Duquet
Save A Duck Pate
from Blissful Bites
Ingredients:
1 8 oz package of tempeh, cubed
1/2 C almonds
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp (fresh squeezed) lemon juice
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp filtered water
1 Tbsp white miso (we used paste, not sure if the liquid form would be different)
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp Tamari
Pinch sea salt
4 Tbsp fresh dill (we used dry and dialed back to 3 Tbsp)
Handful of parsley (our version had a heavy handful, we love parsley)
Photo By: S. Duquet
Make it Happen:
Steam (or boil) the tempeh for 10 minutes. Process almonds until fine in a food processor, then add tempeh and blend for two more minutes. Add the rest of the pate ingredients and process until smooth. Be sure to scrape around the edges of the processor a few times to incorporate all the ingredients. Form pate into a shape or loaf and serve with crackers or veggies of your choice. For our own eye appeal, we dusted the loaf with dried dill as you can see from our photo.
The pate was hearty and unbelievably meaty. So much so in fact, your taste buds may deem you untrustworthy. We rolled ours in dill as a reminder to my brain that it was plant based. It will satisfy the most carnivorous of guests. I think you should be a little fiendish and bring this with you to a Holiday party and don’t bother to mention the part about it being plant-based, no one will even notice and they will think you have spent a bundle and fallen off the veg wagon just to please them.
Photo By: S. Duquet
It is different than any veg dip I have ever tried and deeply flavorful. It was super easy to make and the perfect pair with hearty grain crackers. I know our guests are going to enjoy it.
I plan on sharing more about Blissful Bites but for now, cheers to adding another stellar vegan dip to your appetizer arsenal.
Have a delicious day.
Tags: Blissful Bites, Christy Morgan, compassionate eating, Meatless Monday recipe, plant based diet, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan appetizer, vegan challenge, vegan foie gras, vegan pate, vegan recipe, vegan wannabe
December 8th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
This looks so good! Perfect holiday appetizer. Thanks for sharing!
December 9th, 2011 at 11:12 am
ok, well that just begs to be shaped into cone-shaped pate Christmas trees or a forest of little pate trees…maybe with a little star on top cut from lemon peel? lightly “snowed” with dried minced lemon zest or almond meal? or studded with chopped almonds or if you’re daring, something like crushed red pepper flakes? a little tree of each? oh tannenbaum!
December 9th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Thank you Dana. We served it last night and our guests went wild. They loved it even more than I thought they would. Definitely a must try for your next gathering.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Nik,
Thank you for the whimsical additions. You could also use a piece of yellow pepper for a star. Red pepper flakes would elevate this to rock star status. A pate forest shaped like the trees from Charlie Brown Christmas would be so swanky.