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Sublime Faux Gras : a Vegan Alternative to Foie Gras Recipe

Who knew that a mixture of onion, mushrooms, green lentils, nuts, beetroot, fresh herbs and lemon juice could produce such an incredibly delicious and realistic alternative to one of the most controversial yet popular French delicacies, Foie Gras ? Enter Faux Gras. This Mushroom and Lentil pâté tastes very much like real Foie Gras, but is brimming with plant-based nutrition, and more importantly, comes without the unkind treatment to ducks and geese. But this Faux Gras is not just a vegan alternative to Foie Gras, it is also an exceptionally tasty vegan spread in its own right : it is hands down the best pâté, vegan or otherwise, that I have ever tasted. Don't be put off by the fairly long list of ingredients, the recipe is actually really easy and straightforward.

Customer Rating:
5.0 (2 votes)
1 Customer Review(s)

Posted by: michael
On:

Cuisine

French

Time

30 - 60 mins

Skill Level

Confident

Serves

12

Courses etc.

Easter Recipes
Lunch Box
Nibbles and Snacks
Starters

You will need

IngredientAdd
1 cup or about 200g Puy lentils OR More products
1 cup or about 200g green lentils (or 1/2 cup of each) More products
1/2 cup or about 60g walnuts More products
1/2 cup or about 60g pecan nuts More products
2 Tbsp olive oil More products
1 small onion OR More products
1 small red onion OR More products
1 large shallot More products
2 cloves garlic, crushed More products
about 100g brown chestnut mushrooms OR More products
about 100g porta bella mushrooms

Awaiting stock

 		More products
a small piece of beetroot, enough to give you roughly 2 Tbsp once grated More products
a few sprigs fresh thyme More products
a couple sprigs fresh rosemary More products
5 fresh or dried bay leaves More products
1 Tbsp tamari OR

Awaiting stock

 		More products
1 Tbsp soy sauce More products
1 lemon, juiced More products
a few sprigs fresh parsley, enough to make about 2 Tbsp chopped parsley More products
a few leaves fresh sage, optional

Awaiting stock

 		More products
1 Tbsp light tahini More products
1 pitted date More products
a generous pinch to 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper More products
1/4 tsp smoked Maldon sea salt flakes, optional More products
freshly ground black pepper, to taste More products

Need help converting measurements? View our recipe measurement conversion tables here.

Method

  • Start by cooking the lentils. Give them a quick rinse, then put them in a saucepan with plenty of cold water (at least 4 cups). Bring to the boil over high heat, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until soft (the cooking time varies depending on how old the lentils are). When cooked, drain the lentils and set them aside.
  • Dry toast the nuts in a small heavy-bottomed frying pan for about 15 minutes over low to medium heat until they are aromatic. Set aside to cool.
  • Peel and dice the onion or shallot, peel and crush the garlic clove, peel and finely grate the beetroot, wipe clean and slice the mushrooms.
  • Heat the olive oil in a skillet or wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion or shallot and the garlic and stir fry for about 5 minutes, until translucent.
  • Add the grated beetroot, sliced mushrooms, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft and well cooked through.
  • Add the drained cooked lentils and cook together for a further 5 minutes.
  • Discard the bay leaves and any other large rosemary and thyme twigs and transfer the seasoned lentils and mushrooms to your food processor. Add the tamari or soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, the fresh parsley (and sage, if using), the tahini, the date, the cayenne pepper, the sea salt and black pepper. Process until smooth, scraping the sides of your food processor bowl as required.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning by adding extra salt, tamari or lemon juice if needed. Also feel free to add a splash of water at this stage before processing again if the spread is very stiff.
  • Transfer the Faux Gras pâté to a glass jar and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  • Serve the faux gras with oat cakes, rice cakes, crackers or toasted sourdough bread, topped with fresh parsley, grated cucumber or alfalfa sprouts.

Please rate this recipe and/or send us your comments or questions

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Customer comments

Added ByComment
curlysash@gmail.comI made this yesterday and have sampled properly for my lunch today. This is a stunning pate, tastes really substantial and almost meaty. I added a few flavours of my own to assist with its Faux Gras'ness ... a small additionn of a sherry reduction, a little plant cream and a little neat gel veg stock, liquid smoke ..... delicious!!! The original recipe here omits when to blend the nuts into the pate which needs alteration! Obviously blend them with all the other ingredients

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