Mushroom Hummus Anyone?

 A couple of years ago I took a class on Medicinal Mushrooms. 

    At the end of our class we made this mushroom pate or
 hummus. 
    It is absolutely delicious. 

    If your children or friends don't like mushrooms but like 
 hummus, this is a must try.

---

Mushroom Pate

Ingredients: 

3 cups of sliced medicinal mushrooms (shitake, maitake, king trumpet, etc.) 
1 TBSP chopped garlic
1 TBSP green onions
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar  
2 TBSP organic butter (pasture butter is great as is ghee)
1 cup of shelled walnuts
1 cup of red lentils 
2 cups of water 
¼ cup olive oil  
sea salt or Himalayan pink salt
cumin (optional) to taste 
Serve with crackers or anything you like. 


Toss together 3 cups of sliced medicinal mushrooms (shitake, maitake, king trumpet, etc.),
1 TBSP chopped garlic,
1 TBSP green onions and
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar.  

Sauté this mixture in around 2 TBSP organic butter (pasture butter is great as is ghee).
I prefer to sauté with butter, the recipe calls for roasting this mixture for fifteen minutes, in which case you would preheat over to 350F.

Roast 1 cup of shelled walnuts for 5 minutes. 

In a covered saucepan, cook 1 cup of red lentils in 2 cups of water until soft, about 20 minutes. 
Drain, if needed. 
(For better taste, I sometimes add a bit less of the red lentils to the mushroom mixture.)

In a food processor or blender combine mushrooms, lentils, herbs, ¼ cup olive oil and walnuts.  Puree until relatively smooth. 
Add sea salt or Himalayan pink salt, cumin (optional) to taste. 
Serve with crackers or anything you like. 
Recipe courtesy of  Medicinal Mushrooms by Christopher Hobbs, L.Ac., Botanica Press.