Mushroom Pate En Croute

Makes a great veggie centrepiece for Christmas and goes well with all the traditional extras.

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 2  large onions, chopped
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 2  garlic cloves, chopped
• 250  g  chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 225  g  ground cashews
• 225  g  ground almonds
• 225  g  whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 2  tablespoons soy sauce
• 2  tablespoons lemon juice
• 2  teaspoons dried tarragon
• 1  teaspoon  yeast extract, e.g. vegemite
• 500  g puff pastry
• 1  beaten egg

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200C/400°F.
2. in a large saucepan heat the oil and fry the onions for 7 minutes. add garlic and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Tip everything into a blender and puree.
3. Place in a bowl the cashews, almonds, breadcrumbs, mushroom puree, soy, lemon juice, taragon and yeast extract. Mix very well.
4. Roll out the pastry to make a 15 inch/38cm square. Transfer to a baking sheet and place the pate in the middle.
5. Fold the remaining pastry around the outside and trim the ends.
6. You can use scraps of pastry to make decorations or put slits in the unwrapped pastry to create a "plait" effect.
7. Brush the whole parcel with the egg and bake for 40 minutes.