Bean Pâté

I wanted to do something different with pinto beans than just Mexican food, so I went looking around the internet for bean spreads that are more like a meat dish.

In the end, what I developed is kind of like a chopped liver paté, but without the liver taste.  My mom loved chopped liver, and the rest of us hated it.  We were very happy that it only happened at summer grown-up parties.  The 70s were not known for their cuisine, much of which was leftover recipes from the 50s and 60s that no one had the heart to abandon.  Well, I'm abandoning liver paté.

I did not make this vegan, but all you would have to do is substitute olive oil for the butter.  I wanted the sweetness of caramelized onions in butter, which isn't quite the same when you do it with oil.  For the umami hit, I used liquid smoke, which is vegan.  You could also add some finely chopped mushroom to the onions as they are cooking.  For non-vegetarian, you could use Worcestershire or Fish sauce.

I was going to put a teaspoon of minced garlic in, then noticed that my scrap garden leek was growing a scape.  Allium scapes are the bulb stalks before the flowers grow inside them and bloom.  They are mild and taste like the plant that bore them.  I diced up the scape and threw it in, but you can use the garlic if you don't have scapes.

Using pintos, the spread came out lighter in color than I was expecting.  It looked more like chicken.  Red beans would give a color closer to liver.  But then again, wasn't the whole point of this to make something that is not liver?

2/3 C dry pinto beans
*1 C diced yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
*2 Tb salted butter (I bought it by mistake)
*1/2 C Italian parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
*1/4 tsp white pepper
*1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1.  Soak the beans for 8 hours and drain.  Refill pot with water to cover by 1" and simmer for 1 hour.  Drain, reserving half a cup of the cooking liquid.  I'm not using canned beans on purpose, and cooking them half an hour less than you normally would, because I want a sturdier texture with a bit of chunky pieces.

2.  Melt butter in a medium skillet on medium-low.  Add diced onion and garlic and cook slowly until softened and caramelized to your liking.  Try not to brown the onions.  This will take 15-25 minutes, depending on how soft you like your onions.

3.  Put beans, parsley, white pepper, liquid smoke, and 1/2 tsp of salt in the food processor.  Pulse at first, then run the machine for five seconds at a time until the spread is broken up but not smooth.  Taste, and add more salt as necessary.  The spread will firm up a lot as it cools, so add some of the reserved water until you get a soft consistency that's almost like jam.  Pulse a few times to distribute the new ingredients, then transfer to a container or bowl.  Fold in cooked onion mixture until evenly distributed.  Chill until ready to use.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

Makes about 2 C

Difficulty rating  :)