This is a great little spread if you’re looking to serve a vegetarian pate on, say, an otherwise meat-heavy charcuterie board. And if you’ve forgotten that one or two of your guests, who, to be fair, you only see once a year, are vegan and/or gluten-free, then this is a great little life raft.
Mushroom and White Bean Pate
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 large shallots, minced (or 1 small onion)
1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced thinly
6 fresh sage leaves
2 fresh whole sprigs of thyme
Kosher salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 c dry white wine
2 c canned white beans, drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until soft. Add the mushrooms, sage, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, mix well and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released all of their water and are brown around the edges. Don’t worry about overcrowding the pan, the mushrooms will reduce greatly. Add the beans, 1/4 tsp of salt and the pepper and cook, stirring for about a minute. Pour the white wine in and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Cook for another minute until the wine has evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool in the pan slightly. Discard the thyme sprigs and transfer the mixture to a food processor, add the lemon juice and purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Spread on crackers, use in sandwiches or as a dip.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups.