Vegan Pate

Paté isn’t something I grew up eating, but once I finally tasted it, I knew I needed more of it in my life.

The creaminess. The heartiness. The savory, salty, satisfying feeling.

Plus, your girl likes most things fancy.

The first time I thought about making a vegan pate was after I tried Bonberi’s Vegan “Chopped Liver” at the 1 year anniversary party of her old West Village pop up shop. As soon as I tasted it, I knew I needed some kind of vegan pate in my life.

my vegan pate on my banh mi bites!

Food Noise Cancellation

Now let me be clear: the reason I decided I needed vegan pate in my life was less so because of the taste, and more so because of the benefits. [although, don’t get me wrong, the taste is divine!]

This is a recipe that I intuitively seek out every time my food noise gets loud.

And it makes perfect sense that it’s so effective for muting the food noise—the nutrients are perfectly curated for it!

• brown lentils are packed with plant protein, resistant starch, and soluble fiber—a combo that stabilizes blood sugar, slows digestion, and naturally boosts GLP-1, the hormone that helps you feel full and calm around food

• walnuts are loaded with healthy fats and omega-3s that support your brain and nervous system. Fat + fiber increases satiety and reduces cravings

• shitake, miso, tamari, and tomato paste are rich in umami, which tells your brain “we’ve eaten something satisfying.” Umami also stimulates GLP-1 release, helping to mute that mental chatter about food

• garlic & onion are high in prebiotics that support your gut microbiome—key for regulating mood, appetite, and even how well your body produces GLP-1 naturally

The Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 big yellow onion

• 6 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 6 caps shiitake mushrooms, sliced

• 1 cup dry BROWN lentils (they have to be brown!!!)

  • 2 cups water

  • a couple pieces of kombu (dried pacific kelp)

  •  few sprigs of thyme

  • 1 tbsp tomato paste

• 1.25 cups walmuts

• 1/4 cup tamari

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• a little avocado oil for sautéing 

• optional: a little black pepper

Instructions:

1. heat up a small saucepan on medium heat, but DO NOT add oil!

2. chop your shiitake caps (remove the stems)

3. sauté shiitake caps until they cook down, and then remove them from the saucepan & set aside

4. now add a bit of avocado oil to the saucepan, and scrape the bottom to get all the mushroom bits off

5. dice your onions

6. add onions to the pan & sauté

7. meanwhile, chop your garlic

8. add garlic and sauté

9. add 1 tbsp tomato paste & keep sautéing everything until translucent & super fragrant

10. add the 2 cups water & bring to a boil

11. once it's boiling, add lentils, the second tbsp of tomato paste, kombu, and thyme

12. cover, reduce temp to LOW, and let it cook for roughly 20 minutes until lentils are soft and mushy and the water is gone

13. remove the kombu from the lentil mixture 

14. blend the onion/garlic mixture & mushrooms with the lentils and everything else until smooth

    NOTE: it's better eaten cooled down

Links & Brands:

• I love this miso

• my most common recipe ingredients

BTW

When you make this pate, I would dieeeeee of happiness if you would post it and tag me! @hiwaaaaaaaa on IG, @blushpod on tiktok!