Mock Pate with Lavash

A couple of weeks ago our college hosted a walnut competition in partnership with California walnuts. The idea was to create a recipe that uses walnuts in almost every element, but is also very innovative and different from the recipes out there. So I came up with a Walnut and Lentil Pate. The look and texture is exactly like a liver pate however, it is completely vegan. No dairy or meat.

The recipe is quite easy however takes a little time since it needs to passed through a seive to achieve the right consistency.

For the pate:

• Olive oil
• An onion
• A couple of bay leaves
• A handful of walnuts
• Half a cup of golden gram lentils
• Soy sauce
• Lemon juice
• Paprika
• Brandy
• Chives

For the lavash:

• Olive oil
• Paprika
• Whole wheat flour
• Chives
• Crushed walnuts

To start off, wash the lentils thoroughly and soak them overnight in water. Cook in a pan with a lid for about 15 minutes, till completely done. Strain the lentils, keeping the water in a separate bowl.

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and bay leaf and sweat for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside, discarding the bay leaf.

Toast the walnuts in the oven at 200C for 5-8 minutes and then leave to cool.

Add the cooked lentils, walnuts, onions, soy, lemon juice, brandy, olive oil, seasoning and a bit of the water the lentils were boiled in to a blender.

I would recommend doing it in batches so that its easier to blend as well as pass through a sieve. You also may need to run it through the blender a couple of times to break down as much of the graininess as possible.

Serve the pate in a bowl, topped with some paprika and chives.

For the lavash in a bowl add the flour, salt, pepper, cut chives and paprika. Add only a little oil and water to the flour and begin bringing it together with your fingers.

Knead the flour till it comes together and forms a firm smooth dough.

Roll the dough onto a flat surface and using a wheel cutter, cut out long thin triangles.

Place the triangles on a lightly oiled baking tray and sprinkle with crushed walnuts.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 200C or till lightly brown.

Serve when cool with the pate.

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