Yummy Mushroom & Bean Pate

This is a delicious veggie alternative to meat pate, great as a starter or everyday lunch with melba toasts & salad.

Nutritional Info:

Serves 8, per portion:

104 cals
6.6g protein
16.4 g Carbs- 4g of sugars
0.3g saturated fat

Ingredients:

30 ml/2 tbsp vegetable stock
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red (Bell) Pepper, seeded & diced
450g/1 lb/ 6 cups mushrooms, sliced.
30ml/ 2 tbsp white wine
400g/ 14oz can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 egg, beaten
50g/2 oz/ 1 cup fresh wholemeal (wholewheat) breadcrumbs
10 ml/ 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
10 ml/ 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary *
Salt & ground black pepper


Salad leaves, melba toasts & lemon wedges to serve.(Add onto calories count)

* use dried herbs if you cannot get hold of fresh.

Method:

1. Heat the stock in a pan. Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper, and cook on a low heat for 10 mins. stir occasionally- cook until softened but not browned.

2. Add the mshrooms. Stir well & cover- cook gently for 15 mins. Add the wine and cook for a further 15 minutes until the excess liquid has evaporated.

3. Tip the mushroom mixture into a food processor or blender and add the rinsed kidney beans and process to make a smooth puree.

4. Add the egg to the mixture and blend briefly. Finally- add the breadcrumbs, thyme, rosemary and seasoning. Pulse briefly to mix.

5. preheat oven to 180 degrees c/ 350 degrees F/gas mark 4. Line a 450g/1lb loaf tin with greaseproof (waxed) paper and grease well (I used 1 cal oil spray for this). Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and press down well. Cover the exposed top with a square of greasproof paper and make a tin foil lid. scrunch edges down to seal the top of the tin.

6. Bake for about 1 hr 15 mins, until the pate is just firm. Leave to cool completely then leave to chill in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight. To serve, remove pate loaf from tin & cut into slices.