Mushroom and Walnut Rillettes
Rillettes are a French potted spread, traditionally meat cooked for hours in its own fat until it shreds, then packed under a fat seal and spread cold on toast. This is the mushroom version that turns up on modern French tables, and it works because mushrooms, cooked hard and dry until they brown, take on the same deep, savory, almost meaty quality. Toasted walnuts supply the richness the fat once did, a little white bean binds it, and mustard and white wine vinegar sharpen it the way a rillettes needs. The whole point is texture, so keep it coarse. It holds for the better part of a week in the fridge and, like the original, tastes better after a day.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
- 2 Shallots, minced
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 4 sprigs Thyme, leaves stripped
- 1/2 cup Walnuts, toasted
- 3/4 cup Cannellini beans, cooked
- 1 tbsp White wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Put the chopped mushrooms in a wide dry pan over medium-high heat. They will give up a lot of water; let it boil off completely and keep cooking until the mushrooms sizzle, darken, and start to stick. Driving off the water and browning what is left is what concentrates them into something meaty, the depth that stands in for the fat and slow-cooked pork of a real rillettes.
- Push the mushrooms aside, add the shallots and garlic with a splash of water, and sweat them 3 minutes until soft. Add the thyme and pour in the vinegar, scraping up the browned film stuck to the pan, which is pure savory flavor you do not want to leave behind.
- Toast the walnuts in a separate dry pan until fragrant, 4 minutes. Their released oil is what will make the spread rich, so do not skip the toasting.
- Pulse the walnuts, cannellini beans, and mustard in a food processor with about two thirds of the mushrooms until it comes together into a coarse paste. The beans give body and the walnuts give richness, replacing the fat that would normally bind rillettes.
- Stir the reserved mushrooms back in by hand and grind in the black pepper. Rillettes should be rough and shreddy, not a smooth puree, so leaving those pieces whole is what gives it the right texture. Pack it into a jar or crock, press the top flat, and chill at least 2 hours before serving with toast or cornichons.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 110 calories, 4 g protein, 3 g fiber, 35 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
