Silky Mushroom Pate With Scallion-walnut Topping

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

You will need a 6- to 8-cup terrine or a narrow (10- by 4-inch) bread
pan.  Cover the dried porcini with 1 1/2 cups warm water and set aside
to  soak. Meanwhile, prepare the leeks and mushrooms. Butter the pan
for  the pate, then line it - including the ends - with parchment or
wax  paper and butter again. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Now, returning
to  the mushrooms, lift the porcini from the water, gently squeeze them
dry, then chop them. Carefully decant the liquid into a small
saucepan, leaving any sediment behind, bring to a boil, and simmer
until only 2 tablespoons remain.  Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a
wide skillet. Add the leeks,  garlic, and walnuts and cook over medium
heat, stirring occasionally,  until the leeks are tender, about 6
minutes. Season with salt and  transfer to a blender.  Melt 2 more
tablespoons butter in the same skillet over fairly high  heat. When the
butter foams, add three-quarters of the white  mushrooms and a pinch of
the thyme. Saute until they begin to color,  after a few minutes. Add
these to the blender. Melt another 2  tablespoons butter and repeat
with the remaining white mushrooms,  shiitakes, and chopped porcini,
plus another pinch of thyme. Set  aside.  Add the eggs and cream to the
blender, then puree until the mixture is  completely smooth. Pour the
mixture into a bowl and fold in the  reserved sauteed mushrooms,
remaining thyme, reduced mushroom water,  bread crumbs, lemon juice, 1
1/2 teaspoons salt, and several twists  of the peppermill. Transfer the
mixture to the prepared pan and cover  the top tightly with aluminum
foil. Set it in a baking pan and add  hot water to come halfway up the
sides. Bake in the center of the  oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. It
should be browned on top and  starting to pull away from the sides.
Remove and refrigerate until  completely chilled, at least 6 hours, but
allow it to return to room  temperature before serving.  To serve,
gently pull at the paper lining to ease the pate from the  sides of the
pan or run a hot knife along the edges. Set a platter  over the pate,
then invert. Ease the pan off the pate, then peel off  the paper. Any
rough-looking spots can be smoothed with a hot knife.  Prepare the
scallion-walnut topping and spoon it over the top just  before serving.
Serve with crackers, thin toast, or fresh bread that  has plenty of
character. This pate will keep up to five days.  Scallion-Walnut
Topping: Melt the butter in a medium skillet over  fairly high heat.
When foamy, add the walnuts and cook, stirring  frequently, until they
begin to color a little, about 3 minutes. Add  the scallions and
parsley and cook until the scallions are bright  green and tender,
about 3 minutes. Season with salt and plenty of  pepper. Spoon this
mixture over the pate just before serving.  Recipe is from Vegetarian
Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison.  Posted to EAT-L Digest  by
Felicia Pickering <MNHAN063@SIVM.SI.EDU>  on Feb 22, 1998

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
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Calories: 166
Calories From Fat: 112
Total Fat: 12.9g
Cholesterol: 63.2mg
Sodium: 256.6mg
Potassium: 195.2mg
Carbohydrates: 9.7g
Fiber: 2.5g
Sugar: 1.1g
Protein: 5g