Meat pate is one of many traditional dishes for Christmas in Poland and before going vegan I always loved the one made by my grandma. Luckily it’s so easy to make a vegan version of it and I must say it tastes even better than the original one because it absorbs all the spices and aromas so well that it creates a more complex and deep flavour.

In this recipe I used hazelnuts and prunes to enhance the flavours but you can use other nuts if you prefer and if you’re not a fan of prunes you can use other dried fruit or just skip it completely.

This pate is very rich and aromatic, it smells and tastes of Christmas and it has a lovely, smooth texture. You can eat it on its own or spread on a slice of toasted bread with pickled gherkin on top – this is how I like it most, with loads of freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of truffle oil.

This recipe is very simple, literally nothing can go wrong and it’s relatively quick to make. I’m sure you guys are going to love it!

Ingredients:

• 200g green lentils (uncooked)
• 100g couscous (uncooked)
• 100ml sunflower oil, plus a little extra for frying
• 3 medium onions
• 100g hazelnuts
• 2 laurel leaves
• 4 cloves
• 2 juniper berries
• 1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon marjoram
• 2 teaspoon onion powder
• 100ml red wine
• 2 tablespoon plum jam
• 10-12 prunes
• salt and black pepper

Method:

1. Cook the lentils and couscous according to the instructions on the packaging.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a medium loaf tin and lay it with baking parchment.
3. In saucepan heat 2-3 tbsp. sunflower oil. Slice the onions in half-moons and fry them for 5 min stirring occasionally. Add the wine and all the spices and fry for 5 more minutes.
4. In a food processor blend the nuts until fine meal forms. Add cooked lentils and couscous. Take laurel leaves, cloves and junipers berries out of the onions and then add the onions to the food processor. Add sunflower oil and plum jam and then blend everything until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Transfer ½ of the mix into the prepared tin. Place the prunes evenly on top so that each slice has got at least one prune in it. Put the other half of the mix on top and spread evenly using a spatula.
6. Place in the oven and bake for 45-50 min until golden-brown. Take out of the oven and set aside to cool. Do not slice the pate until completely cooled down.

Enjoy!

Julia xx

This recipe was inspired by JADŁONOMIA.