I am a winemaker and professional chef, but I cook for various mushroom events in my free time. I have been cooking dinners at the Sonoma County Mycological Association’s mushroom camp for years. At those events, I like to serve mushroom pates as starters, because they bring people to the table. I found a basic mushroom pate recipe online years ago, and have made countless adaptations over the years. This version is my favorite.
Maitake Mushroom Pate
I am a winemaker and professional chef, but I cook for various mushroom events in my free time. I have been cooking dinners at the Sonoma County Mycological Association’s mushroom camp for years. At those events, I like to serve mushroom pates as starters, because they bring people to the table. I found a basic mushroom pate recipe online years ago, and have made countless adaptations over the years. This version is my favorite.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 12 ounces maitake mushrooms, broken or sliced into chunks
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced white onions
- 3 small bay leaves
- 4 whole juniper berries
- 1/3 cup hard dry apple cider
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Notes
Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the maitake and cook, for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms start to brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring periodically, until the mushrooms release their liquid, and the liquid begins to evaporate.
Remove the lid and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, the onions, the bay leaves and the juniper berries. (Count the leaves and berries, because you will remove them later.) Increase the heat to medium and cook until onions are golden, about 5 minutes. There may be brown bits accumulating in the bottom of the pan. This is good! Increase the heat to medium-high and add the cider, stirring to scrape up all the brown bits. Allow the liquid to cook off completely, a few minutes, then add the squeeze of lemon juice and stir.
Lower the heat to medium and add the cream. Cook gently for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently, to reduce the liquid. Taste to see if it needs more salt, then take it off the heat. Let the mushrooms cool, then pick out all the bay leaves and juniper berries. Pour the mushrooms into a food processor and pulse to blend to a rough paste. Pack into a pint jar (or, for individual servings, four quarter-pint jars) and refrigerate. The pate holds in the refrigerator up to five days.
Serve the pate at room temperature with marinated olives, cornichons, and bread or crackers, if you like.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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