Carrot Pâté Recipe: A Vegan Take on a French Bistro Classic
Photography by Marie Viljoen. A bright carrot pâté, creamy but vegan, will be welcome on any holiday table and inspire recipe-requests at potluck celebrations—and it’s perfectly portable for winter picnics. It’s also shape-shifting in a magical way, because it is the basis of a comforting soup, as well as a substantial filling for hand pies and galettes. Carrot pâté served with olive oil, walnuts, and sun-dried figs (Fig & Walnut Pairing, $9 from Ziba Foods). This carrot iteration evolved in my kitchen to serve to vegan attendees of the botanical walks I lead, and to use esoteric forage-pantry items, like linden flower vinegar and ramp leaf salt. Schmear the pâté on your support of choice. Roasting the vegetables with bayberry leaves. Roasting strawberries alongside the carrots and onions. Carrot pâté with linden flower vinegar. Garden-grown and market-bought fresh chives, and later chive flowers, work just as well. For the spices: Juniper, spicebush, and sumac for foraged and local flavor. Sourdough toast fingers offer crunch for the carrot creaminess. Heap it in a bowl, or spread it across a plate, dressed up with extra virgin olive oil, nuts, and dried fruit. Spread onto a slice of aronia bread. The carrots are roasted skin-on for more flavor, along with onions and a splash of water and vinegar, then food-processed with olive oil and a spoonful of sweetness. While still warm, whizz the carrot mixture with any remaining pan-juices in a food processor with the olive oil, the yuja-cheong or marmalade, black pepper, Aleppo pepper, and the lemon juice. You may want more salt or sweetness. Whisk the pâté into hot broth and coconut milk for a reviving, instant soup. The pâté-into-soup magic was born one day from a sudden hunger for a spicy soup, and a small bowl of leftover pâté lurking in the fridge beside a jar of good broth (feel free to use instant). Carrot pâté topped with chevre, en route to becoming hand pies. For vegetarian galettes and hand pies, chill the carrot pâté before wrapping it in your pastry of choice (try our cranberry hand pie butter pastry).