Three Mushroom Pâté + J. Lohr 2020 Los Osos Merlot #WinePW #MerlotME #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf J. Lohr Vineyards, one of the #MerlotMe event sponsors. 

Complimentary wine was provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links. 

However, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Let the month of Merlot commence! When #MerlotME rolls around, I always have a nice selection of bottles to pair. Because I have always loved pairing mushrooms with Merlot - and because my mushroom-averse child is off at college and unable to ruin my mushroom dishes with his eye-rolling and complaining - I decided to make a Mushroom Pâté with three different mushrooms to go with the 2020 J. Lohr Merlot from Paso Robles. Here begins my parade of Merlot + Mushroom pairings for #MerlotME 2022!

J. Lohr 2020 Los Osos Merlot

Though this wine is from the Paso Robles AVA, San Luis Obispo County, Jerry Lohr has ties to my neck of the woods. Lohn first planted grapes in Monterey's Arroyo Seco district in the 1970s. Then he saw potential in the Paso Robles region and started planting there in the 1980s.

The grapes for this wine come from the El Pomar district of Paso Robles. Comprised of 76% Merlot, 14% Malbec, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fermented with the whole berry in stainless steel tanks followed by a year in barrels with 15% in new oak. 

The wine pours clear ruby hue. On the nose this wine displays all the telltale aromas expected of a Merlot - black fruit and purple blossoms layered with spice and toasted brioche - while the Malbec brings the tartness of pomegranate and the Cabernet adds the bittersweet of cacao and spices. 

I decided to serve this with a three mushroom pâté topped with marinated mushrooms. That recipe will come soon!

Three Mushroom Pâté

I started with a recipe from Gourmet magazine from 1997 and tweaked a bit to come up with this version. It's a pretty involved recipe, but it's well worth the effort. You can use whatever mushrooms you have available; I had yellow oyster mushrooms, lion's mane, and fresh shiitakes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups chopped yellow oyster mushrooms
• 2 cups chopped lion's mane mushrooms
• 2 cups chopped shiitake mushrooms
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 minced shallots
• 4 minced garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup wine
• 1 cup organic heavy cream
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup ground almond meal, hazelnut meal works well too!
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used flat-leaf parsley)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Also needed: marinated mushrooms and crackers for serving

Procedure

Butter a loaf pan, then line bottom and sides with buttered parchment paper.

Bring stock to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove pan from heat, add lion's mane mushrooms. Bring to a brisk simmer over moderate heat and simmer until reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 10 minutes.

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a blender. Heat 2 more tablespoons butter in skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Add one third of the remaining mushrooms and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cook remaining mushrooms in 2 batches, adding 2 more tablespoons butter to skillet for each batch. Add 2 cups sautéed mushrooms to shallot mixture in blender, and add remaining mushrooms to lion's main mixture.

Pour in the cream, then eggs and almonds to blender and purée until mixture is very smooth, about 1 minute. Add purée to lion's mane mixture and stir in parsley, thyme, bread crumbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until well combined. Pour mixture into loaf pan and cover with foil.

Put loaf pan in a larger baking pan and add enough boiling water to reach halfway up sides of loaf pan. Bake until set 1/2 inch from edges, about 50 minutes (pâté will not be completely set in center). Remove loaf pan from baking pan and let cool to room temperature on a rack. Refrigerate pâté in loaf pan, covered, for at least 6 hours. Bring pâté to room temperature before serving.

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*Disclosure: I received compensation for recipe development and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event.