Bugs Bunny, Daleks and Carrot Paté

Q. What’s a wok for?
A. To throw at a wabbit when you don’t have a wifle!

Today is that wascally wabbit, Bugs Bunny’s 70th birthday. Like many of us, I spent many hours as a child laughing at Bugs jokes like the one above. So to celebrate I thought it was time to post about the carrot paté I made last weekend. Though I don’t know that Bugs would appreciate his carrots mashed with tofu and baked. Nor do daleks according to E. The paté froze solid in my fridge in the dalek lunchbox. Maybe if you had opened my fridge you might have heard cries of ‘exterminate, exterminate!’ (If you want to see the lunchbox, you can see a photo here.)

But one person who does love a bit of tofu is Ricki. It was her recipe I used for the paté. I have never made a baked paté but thought that hers looked like such a firm and colourful loaf that I have been wanting to try it ever since I saw it. So I was surprised when it came out of the oven and was light and soft like a mousse rather than dense and stodgy as I expected. Once I got over my disorientation with the texture, I really enjoyed it. I used fresh thyme as well as parsley and the herbs gave a pleasing flavour.

It has been delicious on toast for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had intended to serve it for dinner with salad but the weather has gotten so cold lately I had to serve it with roast veggies and leftover nut roast instead. It is a summery dish so I intend to try it again in warmer weather when I want something light and tasty with a salad.

Carrot and Tofu Pâté
(adapted from Diet Dessert and Dogs)

450g (1lb) carrots
2 tbsp (30ml) olive oil
2 tbsp (30ml) cider vinegar
2 tbsp (30ml) white miso
1 tbsp fresh thyme (or ½ tsp dried)
300-400g firm silken tofu
2 tbsp (30ml) cornflour (cornstarch in the USA)
1/2 cup (120ml) chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Preheat oven to 170 C (325 F). Grease a small loaf tin and line with baking paper. My loaf tin is 13 x 22 cm and the loaf was quite a lot flatter than Ricki's so I think she must have quite a small tin.

Cook carrots in lightly salted water until tender. Drain (Ricki says to cool but I didn’t). Puree carrots in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until completely smooth.

Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool in the tin for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn out onto a platter to serve. Serve with bread, dry biscuits or rice crackers. Beware the dalek lunchbox for storing leftovers!

On the Stereo:
Donec Ad Metam: Various Artists