Go to the Recipe: Imfoiessible Pâté (Vegan Foie Gras Mousse)
Just confirming: is it actually 25 grams of sweet spice?!
I just made it with 2.5 grams of sweet spice and it seemed like plenty. Also: delicious!!!
It is 2.5 and not 25. Thank you.
How does the flavor and texture compare vs traditional pate?
Pretty amazing. I used some butter instead of coconut because I’m not actually vegan. But I think it is quite incredible.
I don’t have any foie gras lying around right now but am eating it next to some chefsteps chicken liver pate. Both are delicious! Different but I don’t necessarily prefer the liver to the cashew. Well done chef Woolen!
Definitely making this!
Gellan is really hard to get/super expensive where I am. Would a combination of agar and gelatine work as a substitute?
Once cooled, could this be formed into a torchon with plastic wrap and sliced chilled, or is it more mousse-like? Thanks.
Fantastic to hear! I will give it a shot with butter as well since I'm not vegan either. Thanks for the info!
Great recipe, want to try. Does this work with a standard KitchenAid blender?
Thanks so much for this and other vegan recipes. I love good food but hate the cruel industrial meat industry. With this recipe I can have something that I never thought I would eat again it’s also less expensive. Well done Chef Steps team.
If I dont have access to gum f /Lt100, can I substitute with xanthan gum?
If it is high speed and powerful, yes.
Agar will be good to sub out for low acyl gellan. If you must add gelatin then, 1 sheet is all you would need, but the recipe as written is best,.
You can actually do this. Set it, then portion into smaller pieces. Then chill in freezer to really firm the pieces. toss in ash or spices and roll inside plastic wrap for torchon.
I would just omit.
I only have a standard speed blender, is this achievable without a high speed unit - bringing the mixture to a boil on the hob an adding the gums with an immersion blender?
I would recommend using the standard blender to get the mix smooth as possible, add your gums and transfer the mixture to a pot. Bring to a boil while stirring to avoid scorching. Then set. The gum needs to get to 195°f to hydrate.
Would there be any reason why omitting vanilla bean from the sweet spice mix and replacing it with extract would cause any problems? Those beans are expensive right now! Also, would ghee taste better than the coconut oil, if you don't care about it actually being vegan? Thanks!
When it takes a person or crew to pollinate each flower that is only open for one day it adds to the cost of those spendy beans and when weather or disease take hold it amps the cost too, on top of the delicate orchid plant it grows from. I would omit fully from adding to sweet spice and roll with it without adding extract to the recipe above.
The thing about the refined coconut oil is its neutral flavor. I agree that butter/ghee is very flavorful and will pair well with the other ingredients. The better taste is subjective.
Instead of vegan shortening?
This recipe is excellent. I only had low-acyl gellan but the texture was still incredibly convincing. I had clarified butter on hand so I used that instead of the oil/shortening and I also used a little vanilla extract in place of the bean for the sweet spice (only seeing Matthew's comment now).
When I make it again, which I definitely will, I'll dial back the sweet spice about 10% as the star anise hit was a bit overpowering for my tastes. Amazing recipe though.
This recipe is amazing! I wound up paring back the sweet spice since my 1 teaspoon only wound up being 0.5g. I wound up using 1g and the results were unbelievable!
Is there a healthy substitute for the coconut oil? Many of us on plant-based diets for health reasons do not use coconut or palm oil as they both act similarly to animal fats from a health perspective. I know this was debated for many years, but the science is pretty irrefutable at this time even if it is not commonly known.
There are always two sides to a coin, even in science. Omitting may be the best move here but subbing whatever fat you see as fit for your diet will be the best choice.
Can you substitute the cashews for a different nut such as almond, walnut, or peanut?
Any non-alcoholic substitute for the cognac/brandy? More of a religious thing...
Do you think it would be possible to freeze this? Or would the texture be ruined upon refreezing?
If you're going to use the "foie" as an ingredient in another dish, would you change/sub anything? So, for instance, if you were going to do seared foie with a blueberry gastrique or some other fruit pairing, would you change the spice balance? Or the hydrocolloid?
Leave as is but change the shape or mold it is cast into. Then you can unmold and slice or serve. A PVC tube that is lined with acetate will give you perfect round tubes. It is difficult to sear but possible although not that rewarding. I have broken this down into smaller pieces, froze them and tossed them in ash to form a marbled torchon and it looks great.
In theory all gels freeze and thaw well.
Try apple or grape juice. The sweetness is the only factor that may come into to play so maybe just half juice, half water mix. The sweetness will play well with this dish in the end. You could also just sub in water.
Good question. The cool thing about cashew is that it becomes quite thick when heated while tending to have a neutral flavor. I wouldn't try an almond but it may work with walnuts or peanuts.
Coconut oil.
Seared.
Rolled in ash and reformed.
I know people who have a mushroom intolerance, is there any substitute for that?
I bet artichoke, heart of palm, lettuce cores, or even bamboo shoot would be a good sub. Other than that just bulk up shallot and garlic.
is it possible to replace the coconut oil and shortening with butter or clarified butter?
Love all these epic BTS! @matthew do we have the searved version finalized? Did we end up using gellan or what?
Kool aid man says, oh-ya.
After more reflection I also suggest water with splash of sherry vinegar.
It is the same formula set into a rectangular mold, chilled, sliced, seared. that's it. I did one test.
Heh. I may go nuts and pick up some duck fat ;D
Vegan Shortening link (for the fat cap) does not show any recipe.
This was amazing. I had a small hiccup upon realizing the hydrocolloids had gotton stuck in the mouth of my blixer…i just reheated the mix in a double boiler and used a mechanical whisk to get the powders in. Worked perfectly. And yes, i used duck fat for the cap…truly convincing, bravo matthew
Fantastic recipe! Would adding some small amount of lemon juice and/or vinegar alter the settle and react with the hydrocolloids?
I used Nutiva brand that is a blend of palm and coconut that is yellow hued from the red palm oil.
A touch will not affect the hydrocolloids but acidic ingredients do reduce the strength of the gel on higher amounts and can be regulated with sodium hexmetaphosphate.
Is there a source to get the High-Acyl Gellan Gum LT100 in smaller quantities other than Modernist Pantry? The minimum is 50 g for $24.99 plus tax and shipping - only to require 0.4 g or this recipe (125 recipes worth!) - unless someone can suggest some other uses for it to justify the cost (and hoping it has a long shelf life)? Thanks!
Did you test thickening with carrageenan (kappa or lambda)? If so, did it turn out well and what would the substitution be? Thanks!!
Hey Matt, really cool of you to be so attentive in the comments here!
Thank you! I wish I could try cashew but I am allergic
So why did Grant say "a lot of macadamia and walnut" on the video just posted on YouTube, but this recipe just says cashews?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9z7sM6EITo
On the video where influencers try the pate Grant mentions using soy sauce, red palm fat, macadamias and walnuts in this recipe. Tomato paste for colour also isn't mentioned, possibly replaced by the red palm fat. I know I can just experiment and substitute the nuts and oil in this recipe accordingly, but it's a lot of effort considering I am only one man and can only eat so much pate. I'd be curious to get some info from the source about what difference it makes. It sounds like the recipe being talked about in the influencers video is more complex and maybe better. I need answers!
Modernist Pantry just posted a video on this recipe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsWZYmIwVOA
Thanks for sharing! I love it when people start to recognize Matthew's talent.
Hi James, this is the recipe they ate and tasted, as developed by Matthew. He made that batch that we sent with Grant to NYC. Exactly as written here.
Sauternes was mentioned also ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ some confusing info in that YouTube video
Can this be frozen?
Going to be doing this in the coming weeks. Anyone have any feedback on the spice blend? Commenta tend to say it’s heavy with the star anise. That come through a lot here? Should I think about cutting the star anise amount in half?
Taste is all subjective preferences and will change with each individual. The spice blend is heavy on star anise but it is designed this way. The recipe above is also using an amount of spice that is at a maximum amount. If anything you can reduce by half with great results.
Fair enough! Thanks for the response.
Spice blend was perfect for me, I wouldn't change anything.
Grant probably had a few drinks by this point lol.
This is so good, I bet people will make it over and over again, particularly if you have vegan friends. So that makes the cost of the gels more reasonable.
And it's way cheaper than actual foie gras pate!
I took the plunge and bought it! The vegans won't be able to eat my version, as I blanketed the finished product in duck fat, as I didn't want to purchase shortening that I'd likely not use.
I coated mine with duck fat, as I have copious amounts squirreled away in the freezer and wasn't keen on buying shortening.
I didn't make with the spice blend because I was short a main ingredient (vanilla which I thought for sure I had) so I used Burlap & Barrel 5 spice instead. It was fantastic!
I also made this recipe with 5-spice and agree it was fantastic! This is a pretty robust recipe.
