Mushroom, Walnut and Brie Pâté for a Grand Final platter

I am not a football person but I like to watch the Grand Final each year.  Nor am I a mushroom fan and yet I sometimes find those little Fun Guys oddly irresistible.  So this year for our grand final platter, I decided to make a mushroom, walnut and brie pâté.  It was really the brie and the walnuts that made it worth playing with mushrooms and it was worth it.

We went out to the farmers market in the morning to buy some fine baking because if I was going to be eating mushroom pâté I wanted some good bread to eat with it.  But I did not buy the beautiful mushrooms at the market.   They are so gorgeous with their tiny enoki and fluffy lion's mane and blue oyster mushrooms.  A bit too fancy for my mushroom aversion.  I prefer the neat little Swiss brown mushrooms from the supermarket.

WanderCooks where I found the recipe called it an easy 20 minute recipe and they were right.  I took a bit of time to go and snip some fresh herbs from the garden.  Then I went searching for sherry and could only find a bottle of red wine.  But the roasting walnuts, frying mushrooms and melting brie were quick and before I knew it I had a creamy mixture to blend into a smooth pâté.

I had the pâté ready before the grand final pre-match entertainment but was still arranging the platter when Snoop Dog played.  I had a quick look every now and again but it looked so American that I wished they had chosen a local musician.  I know I am old school when it comes to aussie rules football.  For me, seeing Mike Brady sing Up there Gazaly was the highlight of the entertainment.  

Finally we had our platter and could sit down to the watch the match.  I was surprised how much I loved the mushroom pâté.  It was full of flavour and silky smooth.  I liked it far more than I liked the grand final.  While I am not a huge football fan, I loved Geelong as a kid and still get my hopes up when they play in the "granny".  

It was an intense game for the first two quarters with so much holding the ball and stopping the play and the two sides neck and neck.  But by half time I had seen enough football and the prevalence of Brisbane in the second half was enough to bore me.  Yet again my team let me down.  I was sad.  But it is ok.  After all I don't really follow them during the season.  I just like them to win a grand final.  And it was a good excuse for a platter.

I loved the grand final pâté platter.  We had a mix of healthy food and junk food: red capsicum, guacamole corn chips, brie, cashews, carrot, asparagus, Vegemite cheese crackers, sourdough bread, snow peas and Twisties.  The Flinders Sourdough hi top was excellent with the pâté.  I could not believe that something with mushroom could be so good.  Sylvia, who loves mushroom didn't like it much because there were too many walnuts.  You can't please them all.  For me it was a good mushroom day and a great pâté.

More mushroom recipes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

Creamy vegan mushroom and wild rice soup (v)
Festive Mushroom Pie 
Gyoza with mushrooms and lime leaves (v)
Haggis stuffed mushrooms  
Lentil and mushroom nut roast (v)
Mixed Asian mushrooms with dashi (gf, v)
Mushroom and chocolate risotto (gf, v) 
Mushroom, chestnut and couscous sausages
Mushroom whisky gravy (v)
Steamed mushroom buns (v)

Mushroom Walnut Brie Pâté

Adapted from WanderCooks

 

1/2 cup walnuts

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

5-6 medium cloves, roughly chopped

300 g mushrooms, thickly sliced, (I used Swiss brown)

1-2 tbsp leaves of fresh thyme

2 tbsp red wine (or water/ port/sherry)

1/2 cup fresh parsley  and chopped

100 g brie 1/2 wheel ), chopped 

Salt and pepper to taste

Fry walnuts over medium heat in a cast iron frypan while you prepare the vegies.  When they smell done, roughly chop and set aside.

Pour oil into the frypan and fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.  Add mushrooms and thyme for about 5 minutes until soft and swimming in their juices.  Stir in red wine and parsley for a minute or so.  Then dot with chunks of brie and give them a few minutes to get all melty.  

Mix in the frypan with a spoon to make it a nice creamy mixture.  Spoon mixture into a tall jug and smoosh with a handheld blender to make a smooth pâté.

Serve warm or keep in the fridge until you are ready to eat it cool or at room temperature.   (They say to top pâté with butter in the fridge but I had it in a airtight container for a few days in the fridge and it was fine without butter or oil on top!)

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Remember us to Life: Regina Spektor