It's very rare for me to share a recipe I didn't invent....but this one is so clever I don't think I could have ever come up with the genius combination of ingredients!
This amazing idea was passed to me by my Mother...who was given it by her cousin who lives in Australia...who was given it by someone she knows...etc...etc...so, sadly I can't credit the original brilliant innovator.
Having researched it online, I see that there are, in fact, many versions of this vegetarian 'mock liver' pâté .
I've applied some Slice-of-Slim thinking to the recipe I was given, to make it a fabulous low-fat option for you, and I've customised it with a couple of my favourite seasonings.
This is quite time-consuming to make, but well worth the effort. Don't expect the result to be silky smooth reminiscent of typical chicken or duck liver pâtés. This is a vegetarian version of a traditional Jewish dish called 'chopped liver'. It is rustic, coarse but delicious and full of comforting flavours.
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If you are a pâté lover, you will know that it usually has a very high fat content.
A 60g serving of traditional liver pâté is around 5 or 6 propoints/approx.250kcal
One 60g serving of this 'mock liver' pâté is 2pp/approx 100kcal.
Here's how it works out if you eat more than one portion:
1=2pp, 2=4pp, 3=7pp, 4=9pp, 5=11pp, 6=13pp
It's pretty rich, so you probably wouldn't want more than 2 portions in one day but better to be safe than sorry!
It's traditionally spread on water biscuit crackers such as 'Table Water' or Matzo, so you will need to account for those.
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You Will Need : Makes 6 portions
50g pecan nuts
3 medium onions
Frylight Oil (Buttery variation)
Frylight Oil (Buttery variation)
1/2 tin (110g drained) whole green beans
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon low salt soy sauce
white pepper
dried herbs
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Weigh out the pecan nuts then pop them on a metal baking tray.
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees centigrade for around 20 minutes until a toasted dark colour. (Don't burn them!) The smell is divine.
While the pecans are baking, you can get on with the other processes.
First, you need to hard-boil the eggs. I find the best method is to cover them in cold water in a smallish pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 7-8 minutes. As soon as your timer goes off, run them under cold water for a minute or so. This makes it easier to peel them and stops the yolks from turning an unappetising grey colour.
While the eggs are boiling, dice the onions fairly finely and fry gently in a little Frylight oil (I used the buttery variety). The onions need to be a rich, golden brown. The texture should be soft, not crispy. This could take 10-15 minutes. Season with a little white pepper, dried herbs and a splash of soy sauce.
Next, take the can of beans. Now, this is probably the most surprising ingredient to you...but this is where the genius lies!
Drain the beans and weigh out half of the can. If you look at the colour of these beans, they are a khaki, dull green. Now think of traditional liver pâté which has that weird pinky/greeny tinge to its colour. The beans somehow help to replicate this!
O.K, so now you have the 4 main components to the dish. It's important to keep them separate at this stage. They will go into the food processor individually to ensure the best texture for your finished pâté. This is because each ingredient has such a different texture from the next one, so requires its own chopping time. Don't be temped to 'sling it all in' together - it won't work!
Blend the toasted nuts first because they are your only dry ingredient.
Chop them to a lovely fine consistency, as small as you can. Tip them into a mixing bowl.
(Looks a bit like minced liver?)
Next, blitz the fried onions.
Keep checking and dislodge any sections that stick to the side of the food processor. You want to turn the onion into a 'pulpy' texture.
Once you are happy with the onion, you can add the beans to the mixture.
Blend together until really smooth.
(It looks a bit like mashed avocado).
Tip the mixture into the mixing bowl with the chopped pecans.
Peel the hard-boiled eggs and place into the food processor.
(No need to clean it between ingredients).
Chop as finely as possible. Check and mix in any large pieces of egg white during the chopping process.
Tip the chopped egg into the bowl with all the other ingredients.
Now, mix everything together thoroughly and season to your personal taste using white pepper, herbs and soy sauce. White pepper is a vital ingredient here-it's used in many eastern European dishes and will give you an authentic flavour. I use low-salt soy sauce but you may prefer to add a little traditional or garlic salt instead.
Allow to cool. This is best served at room temperature, so if you refrigerate it, leave it out of the fridge for a good 30 minutes before serving.
Spread on crackers as an appetiser or starter.
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I'm passionate about this pâté!
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TIP
Whenever I make a dish like this, I weigh the whole amount then divide into portions in ramekins. This means I know the propoints/calories in the serving size and I'm not tempted to 'dip' into a large bowlful without weighing it first.
It's great to have in the fridge for a "Smash and Grab" moment.
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