NEVER ENOUGH GARLIC

Oven-baked vegan lentil pâté infused with shiitake mushrooms is one of the best things you can have for lunch. Spread it on toasted bread or on dark rye bread as we often do and top it with some fried button mushrooms and maybe a dash of parsley, and you'll find yourself in heaven!

You’ll always find a pâté at family lunches in Denmark, but like everything else here, they’re made of pork (oh and topped with bacon too)... so of course we had to create the perfect vegan edition! Now we always bring this pâté to family lunches and brunches during the holidays and throughout the year. We love to spread the vegan gourmet love, so we made our families try it and they like it too!

We have refined our lentil pâté recipe for years, but it turns out the best kind is actually really simple. And now we're ready to share it with you guys. This is by far the best pâté/spread we’ve tried, and we can't wait to hear what you guys think. 

Ingredients for the Pâté:

• 200 g (7 oz) red or green lentils 
• 50 ml (1.7 fl. oz) sunflower oil or similar
• 1 satchet / 28 g (1 oz) of Clearspring Umami Instant Stock or similar
• 50 g (1,75 oz) dried shiitake* mushrooms
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 0.5 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. crushed black pepper

* Shiitake mushrooms are perfect because of their umami flavour, but they aren't easy to find in regular supermarkets. We buy ours at an East Asian supermarket in town. If you can't find any shiitakes, you can use other types of mushrooms, but choose a flavourful kind.

Instructions:

1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms for 30 minutes
2. Boil the lentils for about 20-25 minutes until tender. Toss them in a sieve so there is no extra water left and pour them in a bowl.  
3. When the shiitakes are done soaking, toss them in a pan with the sunflower oil and 0.5 tsp. salt and and 0.5 tsp pepper. Fry until the mushrooms are brown and slightly crispy. Yes, it seems like a lot of oil, but you need it to make the taste and texture right.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
   
5. Pour the shiitake mushrooms into the bowl with the lentils along with the oil from the pan. Add 0.5 tsp. black pepper, the smoked paprika, and the umami instant paste.
6. Blend using an immersion blender until you have a smooth paste. You can use a normal blender, too, but we prefer an immersion blender for this.
7. Pour the paste in an oven-proof tray, and bake in the oven uncovered for 30-45 minutes until it gets a firm brown surface. 
8. Serve while warm and enjoy.
   
   Serving suggestions: spread it on toasted rye bread with some fried button mushrooms on top and a dash of fresh parsley.