Mushroom and Onion Pate'

Chestnut mushrooms are a great ingredient to have to hand now that the weather is cooler and we turn to heartier dishes. The trick for a perfect mushroom and onion pâté is to reveal their meatiness by cooking off as much liquid as possible, intensifying their umami flavour.

A glorious seasonal starter and a vegetarian crowd pleaser that's hard to forget.

Serves: 4

Prepare: 15 minutes, plus soaking and cooling

Cook: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 20g dried porcini mushrooms
• 250g chestnut mushrooms
• 1 onion
• 1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 75g Greek yogurt
• 50g crème fraiche
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar
• 10 sprigs lemon thyme, leaves picked

1. Soak the porcini mushrooms in just-boiled water for 10 minutes then drain. Very finely chop the soaked porcini, the chestnut mushrooms and onion.

2. Put the butter and olive oil in a large non-stick pan set over a low-medium heat. Add the mushroom mixture and garlic then fry, stirring frequently, for 20-25 minutes, until golden and all the cooking juices have evaporated. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool to room temperature.

3. Mix in the yogurt, crème fraiche, vinegar and most of lemon thyme leaves; season. Whizz in a food processor or with a stick blender to your desired consistency. Scoop the pâté into a bowl and scatter over the remaining thyme leaves. Serve with toasted rye bread and celery sticks.

Tip: This pâté can also moonlight as a sauce for pasta or meat: simply add in cream or crème fraiche to bring it to your preferred consistency, then heat gently.

Facts: Did you know that just one large flat mushroom counts as one of your five-a-day?