Mushroom and Walnut Pâté (Raw Vegan)

Here is a simple and healthy recipe that is ideal for hot summer days. This raw vegan mushroom and walnut pâté is light, delicious and really easy to make. It is naturally gluten-free, and doesn’t contain any added oils. It requires only a couple of natural ingredients.

Ingredient list

To make this raw vegan mushroom and walnut pâté, you will need:

• Mushrooms – I used shiitake and button mushrooms because they are quite mild, and can really taste delicious when prepared in a raw version
• Walnuts – they go great in these kind of earthy and “meaty” savoury dishes;
• Onions – a small quantity to enhance the flavour;
• Shoyu, tamari or other naturally fermented soy sauce
• Apple cider vinegar

Preparing the ingredients for the raw mushroom and walnut pâté

This pâté is a raw dish, which means it does not require any cooking or complicated processing of the ingredients. However, there are a couple of things you can do to make it stand out with its beautifully balanced flavour and texture.

Marinating the mushrooms

Chopped mushrooms will need to be marinated in shoyu, tamari or other type of naturally fermented soy sauce. This will give them that deep umami flavour that is perfect for a paté.

If you don’t use soy sauce, it can be replaced with coconut aminos (or even mushroom garum or other salty fermented sauce) for the similar effect.

Also, soaking the mushrooms in a salty sauce like this will help them lose some water, which is great for recipes that don’t include cooking mushrooms. It is better if they lose the moisture prior to being blended into a pâté.

Soaking the walnuts

Soaking walnuts for eight hours or overnight will not only make them softer and more suitable for this recipe, but will also activate their enzymes and make them easier to digest.

You can read more about soaking and sprouting seeds in this post; the same logic goes for nuts, but instead of sprouting them, it will be enough to soak them for long enough.

Preparing the onions

Whenever I use raw onions in my recipes, I like to either sprinkle them with vinegar or leave them in very cold water for 15-20 minutes. These things will reduce the onions’ strength and make them taste a bit milder.

Making the mushroom and walnut pâté

To make the raw mushroom and walnut pâté, you will need to simply process all of the ingredients in a food processor after you have soaked and marinated everything as described.

The consistency that I usually like to go for is one that is well-blended, spreadable and without chunks, but never perfectly smooth.

Serving ideas & storing

My favourite way to enjoy this raw mushroom pâté is with some kind of home-made seed crackers – preferably raw, like these chia seed crackers with sesame and sunflower seeds. Another great idea are these oven-baked amaranth crackers.

It would be the best to consume this raw mushroom and walnut pâté within a day or so. It won’t go bad if you decide to save it for later, but it does oxidise easily, which means the surface will turn brown and the look will not be as appealing.

Before storing it in the fridge, make sure you cover the surface directly with a wax wrap or cling film, to prevent oxidation. It can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Yield: Around 300 g / 8-10 portions

Mushroom and Walnut Pate (Raw Vegan)

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Learn how to make a tasty raw vegan mushroom and walnut pâté with only a couple of natural ingredients.

Prep Time 8 hours

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup walnuts (120 g or 4.2 oz)
• 1 cup chopped button mushrooms (80 g or 2.8 oz)
• 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms (60 g or 2.1 oz)
• ½ small head of red onion (35 g or 1.2 oz)
• 4 tbsp of light shoyu or tamari
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Soak the walnuts in cold water for eight hours and rinse them afterwards.
2. Chop all the mushrooms somewhat finely, put them all into one bowl and add four tablespoons of shoyu or tamari.
3. Mix well, and let the mushrooms marinate for around 20 minutes.
4. Chop the onion, put it in a small bowl and mix with two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Let it sit for around ten minutes. 
5. Add the walnuts, marinated mushrooms (together with the excess soy sauce) and onions (together with the excess liquid if there is any) into a food processor and process until the desired consistency. I like the pâté to be spreadable and without chunks, but still not flawlessly smooth.
6. Enjoy with some raw crackers. Bon appétit!

Notes

* Instead shoyu or tamari, you can use some other naturally fermented salty condiment, such as coconut aminos, to get those perfect umami notes in the flavour.

* The pâté can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days, but make sure to cover its surface directly - with a cling film or something similar - to prevent oxidation.