Friday, February 26, 2010

Low Fat Baked Vegan Cheesy Pate – Version 1


The okara miso pate I made earlier today was quite tasty but I wanted to make second pate today so that we had variety. I have enjoyed making mock liver pates in the past but today I wanted to make something that had a cheesy flavor.

It is easy to make nut cheeses that taste very much like the dairy originals that they are replacing. The only problem with nut cheese is the fat content while lower than dairy is still higher than I would like. I wanted to make something that has a similar flavor to cheese without the fat of cheese. This is going to be an ongoing process but I wanted to share the steps I go through to develop a baked recipe. I thought some of you may find it interesting. Also, if anyone has any ideas to share please feel free to comment. I love suggestions. So here is the first version of the recipe with more to follow as I make more soy milk.

Low Fat Baked Vegan Cheesy Pate – Version 1 (Recipe in process)
Makes 7 generous servings – a little over ¼ cup each

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups fresh okara, well drained (from making soy milk)
4 ounces organic russet potato, scrubbed and cut into cubes
2 tablespoons dry oatmeal (ground into flour in your blender)
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon onion flakes
1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup soy milk, or whatever is necessary to process the mixture

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees convection.

Combine everything in your blender and add as much soymilk as is necessary to process the mixture.

Pour the pate mixture into small ramekins and place those in a larger pan. Fill the larger pan with enough hot water that it comes ½ way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake until the pate is firm. Mine were finished in 30 minutes. Cool completely then cover and refrigerate.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 74.38
Calories From Fat (13%) - 9.46

Total Fat - 0.8g
Saturated Fat - 0.1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 178.69mg
Potassium - 208.75mg
Total Carbohydrates - 10.2g
Fiber - 0.73g
Sugar - 1.01g
Protein - 2.08g

Comments:

I am happy with the fat content and the overall concept.  But the recipe needs some work. When I am making a new recipe I like to outline what happened in terms of texture, flavor and appearance and jot down any ideas I have for the next version. Here are my notes from this first version of the low fat cheesy pate.

Texture:

I would describe the texture (when warm) as like creamy ricotta cheese or a warm brie (only not fatty). Except for the dry top, I am happy with the texture.

Flavor:

Definitely needs salt, and more nutritional yeast. I think lemon zest would also be good in this, and maybe a hint of Dijon.

Appearance:

I don’t like the cracked surface. This shouldn’t have happened since it was cooked in bain marie.

Changes for next time:

Add more salt, and nutritional yeast (double each to start).
Add zest from one lemon.
Add Dijon mustard; start with ½ tablespoon and taste.
Consider substituting the juice of one lemon for part of the soy milk.
Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil to try to eliminate cracking.
Bake at a lower temperature which may also keep the top from cracking.
Fat content is good, don’t add a lot of nuts or seeds.

Unrelated notes:

I have somewhere that I need to be tonight. I will be back with more experiments from the kitchen tomorrow. I hope you are all have a good evening

11 comments:

  1. Interesting. I sooo wish I was there to taste it!

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  2. Heather,

    Developing both baked and cultured recipes generally take a few iterations before they are right. I was expecting baking to concentrate the flavors more than it did. But I am happy the texture was right. This one is close enough it may be right after version 2 or 3.

    I thought you would be someone that would enjoy the process since you experiement at home too.

    I wish you were here to taste it too. Having someone else to taste and give ideas would be heaven.

    have a great evening,
    Alicia

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  3. woah, i seriously need to look into okara. vegan cooking school, anyone?

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  4. Those flax crackers look really delish...the pate sounds really interesting...looks pretty cheesy to me (in a good way!).

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  5. Vixen,

    I hope you are enjoying reading about my experiments with okara. There is a reason my husband calls my kitchen area 51. ;)

    Rose,

    LOL, looks pretty cheesy in a good way! I love that!

    The crackers are Mary's. I bought the box for the ingredients list so that I can play around with making my own version of them too. Since everyone raves about them I wanted to see if I could come up with a suitable recipe.

    Alicia

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  6. This looks delicious and I love Mary's Crackers, too! I am a big fan of vegan spreads, so I was excited to see your post, and I so hear you on the fat issue. I've had great results used pureed sauteed mushrooms, pureed sauteed onions, or lentils in the base for body. My favorite is a combination of all three with some roasted walnuts thrown in as well.

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  7. Elle,

    Thanks for the tip on your favorite spread combination. I like the lentil idea and had not thought of it so I can't wait to try it.

    Thanks for commenting,
    Alicia

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  8. Oh man...you are making me wish I had access to some okara!

    Courtney

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  9. Courtney,

    Sorry you don't have a soymilk maker. Do you have a China town near you? If you can find somewhere that sells fresh tofu they may also sell okara since many Japanese use the okara for recipes too.

    Alicia

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  10. "Area 51!" LOL!!! Maybe Dan should get you one of these aprons! (And hey, how can we be sure "Ali" isn't really short for "Alien?" Hmmm?)

    So how did Dan like the results of your "stellar" paté experiments? Did he think they were out of this world? :-)

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  11. Lalo,

    Dan has been eating the other pate (more calories). I have been eating this one with dijon. The more I eat this one the more convinced I am that I can use this in other dishes. Expect to see this turn up again, maybe this week.

    Ali, alien.... hmmmm. Maybe! LOL

    Alicia

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