Easy Vegetarian Pate Recipes

 Surprise friends and family with these really easy to cook vegetarian pate recipes.  They take only a short time to make and taste far nicer than shop made pates, which often rely on yeast as a base.  In addition they're low fat and so won't pile on the calories.

 6oz 150g mushrooms

garlic to taste

salt and black pepper to taste

chilli to taste

1tsp olive oil

2 tsp water

2oz 55g cream cheese light

Heat the tsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan or skillet. Add the mushrooms and crushed garlic and stir them in the oil quickly to coat them. It doesn't matter how much garlic you add, as it's personal taste, but I find two cloves makes a good garlicky pate. Add the 2 tsp water and put the lid on. Reduce the heat and cook until the mushrooms are soft. it doesn't matter if one or two of them just start to brown, but you don't want a lot of browning.

Also, you don't have to use a Le Creuset skillet like the one pictured, but they are really nice to cook with.

Turn off the heat and allow the mushrooms to cool a little, then put two thirds of them in a blender with salt, freshly ground black pepper and chilli to taste.  Reserve the other third until later. Add two ounces of low fat ceam cheese (Philadelphia style) to the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Taste to ensure the seasoning is OK, then add the remaining cooked mushrooms.  The pate will have a softish texture at this stage, but once cooled will firm up a bit.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will potentially keep for up to three days if you don't eat it in one sitting.

 1Small squash

1Clove garlic

salt and black pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

 Chop the butternut squash into two inch pieces and take out the seeds.  There's no need to remove the skin first.  Place the pieces in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle the tbsp of olive oil over.  Stir to roughly coat the squash in oil.

Bake in a hot oven, around 200c/400f/gas 7 for 30-40 minutes or until soft.  The time can vary depending on the squash.

When soft, remove from the oven and allow to cool so that you can handle the pieces.  Place them in a blender (skin included) with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (I like to use an electric pepper mill).  Add two heaped teaspoons of curry paste; I particularly like Patak's Korma, but use what you like, add the two ounces of low fat cream cheese then blend.

Allow to cool then eat!

 Both pates are full of vitamins and minerals; and leaving the skin on the squash increases the fibre content.

Both pates taste really good on a slice of toasted Spelt bread - click here for Spelt bread recipe.

 Anath has some great juice recipes here.  Why not check them out.