When you move to another country, you try to find things you like and know well. Food is so important for me that the first thing we did when we arrived in California was a gigantic grocery at Whole Food Market (my new favorite natural store!).

Veggie "pâté" is a vegetarian spread. It's one of my favourite thing to put in a sandwich or in a wrap. It's also very good as an appetizer with crackers, olives and raw veggies. I remember searching for it without any success on this very first grocery when we only had a pan and a knife in our temporary house...

Now that I have my kitchen appliances back, I'm happy to do my homemade veggie "pâté" again. If you've never tried veggie "pâté" before, I would describe it as somewhere in between a spread and a veggie loaf. This version is sliceable (and spreadable!), gluten-free (I use chickpea/garbanzo flour for the high protein content) and is loaded with wonderful ingredients, like nutritional yeast (more information here), veggies, spices, seeds and nuts.

This recipe as a lot of ingredients, but this is by far the best veggie "pâté" recipe I've ever made (and I tried a lot of disappointing recipes before!). I've included a "basic recipe" so you can vary the seasonings to fit your taste, as well as my favourite version! You :

Don't like sweet potatoes ? Try white/yellow potatoes or grated beets for a colourful version
Want an exotic version ? Add curry powder and chilli flakes in the mixture
Can swap the cumin/curcuma for Provence herbs for a mediterranean touch
Have extra time or leftovers? Try adding caramelized onions instead of the raw onions

Very important facts to keep in mind when serving your veggie "pâté" :

Veggie pâté loves dijon mustard... And mayo (or "vegenaise/cashewnaise")... And tomatoes or roasted red peppers... And lettuce. And sliced radishes... And baby sprouts... Got it?

We also do our own quick pickled cucumbers. They don't last long, so we have to do the recipe again every 2-3 days ! Thank god it's a "last-minute" recipe! "Veggie-pâté" and pickled cucumbers are SO made to be together!

Veggie pâté

Ingredients

Basic recipe :

1 cup grated carrots (unpeeled if organics)
1 cup peeled and grated sweet potatoes (or white/yellow potato)
1/2 coarsely chopped red onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup nuts (I often use 1/2 cup raw almonds + 1/2 mix Brazil nuts and walnuts)
1 cup plain sunflower seeds (or pumpkin seeds if you don't like sunflower seeds)
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds + more for garnish
1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons gluten-free Tamari (or soy sauce or coconut aminos for soy-free)
1/2 cup chickpea (garbanzo) flour (or other flour of your choice)
1 cup water

Additional "add-ins" (my favourite version so far!) :

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (organic and unsulfuried), coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon honey (or agave nectar or maple syrup)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon curcuma
1 teaspoon grounded cumin
Grounded peppers (to taste)
Chili flakes or few drops of Tabasco sauce, to taste

Preheat your oven at 350 °F. Oil a 8 x 4-inch pan.
In a food processor, process the onions, sun dried tomatoes, garlic cloves, sunflower seeds and nuts until finely chopped.
Add the other ingredients and purée until the mixture is very smooth.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it with a spoon. Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top if you like. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the veggie pâté begins to brown.
Let cool. Cover and refrigerate. Slice the veggie "paté". Garnish your favorite bread with your delicious veggie "paté", "vegenaise" or "cashewnaise", dijon mustard, slices of tomatoes or roasted red peppers, pickled cucumbers, lettuce and finely sliced radish. Fresh sprouts are great too ! Great on a salad or as an appetizer too!

Quick pickled cucumbers

Ingredients

1 large organic cucumber, thinly sliced
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1-2 tablespoons honey or coconut sugar (optional)
Pinch of sea salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl or jar and add the cucumber. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.