Wild mushroom and thyme pâté

Making your own vegetarian pâté at home is easy when you have this recipe at hand. The flavours are a tasty combination where garlic and thyme complement the earthy notes of the wild mushrooms. Serve with a salad, some pickles and your choice of bread or crackers.

30 minutes prep. time
25 minutes cooking time
Serves 6
Salads & light bites, Vegetarian

3 ramekins of wild mushroom and thyme pâté on a wooden serving board next to some slices of bread — Wild mushroom and thyme pâté | © National Trust/William Shaw

250g wild mushrooms
1 large garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped
150g white onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
150g butter

For the topping

75g butter
6 small sprigs of fresh thyme

Top tip

This wild mushroom and thyme pâté can be kept in the fridge for up to three days so it's perfect if you need to make it ahead of time.

Step 1

To prepare your mushrooms, rinse them well to remove any dirt or debris and then gently pat dry or leave to air dry. Roughly chop all the mushrooms and then place them to one side.

Step 2

Put 75g of the butter into a pan and melt over a low heat. While the butter melts, put the prepared garlic and onion in the bowl of your food processor and blitz until very finely chopped.

Step 3

Tip the onion and garlic mix into the pan and sauté for 10 minutes.

Step 4

While the garlic and onion sauté, put the mushrooms in your food processor and blitz until very finely chopped. Add the blitzed mushrooms into the pan. Stir well and sauté everything for a further 5 minutes until the mushrooms release their liquid and start to cook.

Step 5

Finally, add the drained chickpeas to your food processor and blitz until roughly chopped, but some texture remains. Add to the pan along with the thyme, salt and pepper. Stir well and sauté for a final 5 minutes.

Step 6

Add the remaining 75g of butter to the pan and stir until completely melted and combined.

Step 7

Remove the pan from the heat and carefully tip the mixture in a clean food processor bowl. Blitz for a minute or two until almost smooth. Taste the mixture here to check the seasoning levels.

Step 8

Split the pâté into six ramekins or serving pots and smooth the tops making them as flat as possible.

Step 9

For the topping, melt the butter in a pan and spoon a thin layer onto the top of each pâté. Top neatly with your sprigs of thyme whilst the butter is soft.