This week I bought an Instant Pot, so I’m now busy trying recipes to get a sense of how it works. I’ve tried out a few recipes, and I’m learning how to tweak them in ways that I enjoy. You can totally make this in a pot on your stove too!
This one is a delicious winner! It has a nice creamy texture and lovely flavours of mushroom, white wine, butter and olive oil. So nice on a piece of toasted bread or crostini! It satisfies those umami cravings. For me this was a part of a picnic spread of cheese, mushroom pate, bean salad, and some veggies.
I made a few changes to the original recipe: In my instructions I have clarified a few details that were not well-described in the Instant Pot Recipe Booklet, and some that were omitted. I used a combination of dried mushrooms instead of just porcini. I also cooked off some of the moisture after pressure cooking because it seemed to liquidy. I added pepper at the end instead of before cooking (I think cooked pepper tastes more butter), and I topped up the liquid in the dried mushrooms with white wine instead of water – yum! I transferred my mushroom mixture to a food processor instead of using an immersion blender because I wanted to make sure I had a really creamy paté; I’m sure the immersion blender does a nice job too – and who doesn’t love fewer dishes!!! I also used a high quality olive oil to add in the last stage. I might also drizzle some on the top in the future!
Next time I will add a sprig of rosemary to the pot before it cooks – doesn’t that sound delicious?
The recipe serves 4-6 people. Or two. If you are self-isolating or just selfish.
What you need:
- 3/4 cup dried mushrooms, rinsed
- boiling water
- 1 tablespoon butter (use olive oil for vegan recipe)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 500 grams (1 lb) cremini or white button mushrooms (thinly sliced)
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (plus a little more)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
- freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons good quality Parmesan cheese, finely grated (use vegan Parmesan for vegan recipe)
What you do:
- Place the dry mushrooms in a measuring cup. Pour boiling water over them until it reaches just over 3/4 cup. Push the mushrooms down, then put a tight lid or plastic wrap over the measuring cup.
- Slice the shallots and mushrooms.
- Add the olive oil and butter to the Instant Pot, then sauté the shallots for a minute. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until they are golden brown (mine didn’t get golden, and it was awesome anyways).
- Pour the 1/4 cup wine in and allow to evaporate.
- Add the mushrooms and their soaking liquid, along with an extra splash of wine. Add the salt and bay leaf.
- Close and lock the lid, and then set the Pressure Cooker to 12 minutes. When the time is up, use the Quick Pressure Release.
- At this point I sautéd off a bit of the liquid – you can decide if you think this is necessary. Discard the bay leaf.
- Once slightly cooled, add the cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese. Use an immersion blender or food processor to blend until smooth.
- Enjoy on crostini or whatever form you choose!
