This creative vegetarian mushroom pâté is a perfect appetizer for parties, and it also makes a wonderful spread on sandwiches.
This Black Trumpet Mushroom Pâté with Sage and Marsala is incredibly easy to make, and in general the ingredients aren't too challenging to find. Dried black trumpet mushrooms were easy to source at Whole Foods, but you can also find them online.
I made it as a spread to serve with Christmas dinner, so I decided to double the recipe to make sure there was enough. One recipe is supposed to fill one ½-to-¾ cup ramekin. I would say easily aim for ¾ cup since my double recipe generously filled three ½-cup ramekins with extra to spare.
When I first whipped this up and tasted it, I was concerned it was actually too spicy (I used the recommended amount of cayenne). Fortunately, once it chilled the spiciness really mellowed out and turned into a nice background note. Just beware of how much cayenne you use if you're sensitive at all to spice.
The only other change I personally made was to omit the smoked salt because I didn't have any. I just use a little more fine sea salt for the filling, and then garnished my ramekins of mushroom pâté with Hawaiian red sea salt.
This mushroom pâté is velvety umami deliciousness. The color and texture may look a bit unappetizing, but I assure you this mushroom pâté could easily steal the show at your next gathering. I served mine with crostini, but also enjoyed it spread on fresh rustic bread.
It would definitely make a lovely spread for sandwiches as well, or perhaps even a stand-in for the duxelles/pâté combo in Beef Wellington.
Other recipes you may like
- Le Bernardin's Salmon Rillettes
- Kashke Bademjan (Persian Eggplant Dip)
- Nakládaný Hermelín (Czech Marinated Cheese)
- Three Mushroom Dumplings
- Mushroom Gruyère Grilled Cheese
- Chinese Stir-Fried Oyster Mushrooms with Chicken
- Braised Veal with Dried Mushrooms (Fricando amb Moixernons)
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Black Trumpet Mushroom Pâté
Ingredients
- ½ ounce dried black trumpet mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup small-diced yellow onion
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt plus more as needed
- ¼ teaspoon smoked salt plus more for garnish
- 2 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh sage plus a few tiny leaves for garnish
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (less if you want it pretty mild)
- 2 tablespoons Marsala
Instructions
- To rehydrate the mushrooms, place them in a small bowl and pour a generous amount of warm tap water over the top. Wait 5 minutes, and then aggressively agitate them in the water. Carefully lift them out, discarding the water left behind. Now place the mushrooms in a new container, such as a quart-size heatproof pitcher or glass measuring cup, or a quart-size canning jar. Boil water and then pour at least 2 cups boiling water over the mushrooms. Place a small cup or plate on them to keep them submerged. Allow the mushrooms to completely soften, about 20 to 30 minutes or until softened. When the mushrooms are soft, lift them out of the soaking liquid, squeezing any liquid out of the mushrooms and back into the soaking vessel. Reserve 1 cup of the rehydration liquid.
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and add the onion and sea salt. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the onion, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until the onion is very soft and lightly caramelized. Add the black trumpets and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove 1 or 2 mushrooms to use as garnish; set them aside. Add the smoked salt, tomato paste, minced sage and thyme, lemon juice, soy sauce, black pepper, and cayenne to the ingredients in the pan and saute for 1 more minute. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala and then, 30 seconds later, add the reserved 1 cup strained mushroom soaking liquid. Reduce the mushroom mixture by half (you should be left with roughly ¾ cup). transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until very smooth. Season to taste with fine sea salt.
- Fill a ½-to-¾-cup capacity ramekin or serving dish with the pâté. Use a spatula to smooth out the surface. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saute pan, skimming the top with a spoon to scoop out the white milk solids. You can discard or spread the milk solids onto a piece of bread as a snack. Pour the clarified butter evenly over the top of the pâté. Refrigerate until chilled and the butter is set. Garnish with a scant sprinkle of smoked salt, the reserved pieces of mushroom, and some tiny sage leaves.
Notes
- You can easily double the recipe and freeze one ramekin (just wrap it really well in plastic wrap and then foil); thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before serving. It is lovely served with fresh bread, crostini, brioche toast points, or any cracker of your choice. The pâté can also be used as a spread on a sandwich.
- Adapted from Shroom
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Eileen Goodyear says
A culinary adventure! I used fresh trumpets—2.5 ounces—and reduced the water added at the end to 3/4 cup. This was absolutely phenomenal. Can’t wait to eat again!
Victoria says
Hi Eileen,
That's a great tip for anyone who wants to use fresh mushrooms for this recipe! It's really such an elegant appetizer idea 🙂 I'm glad you loved it!