I loved the raw mock salmon at Cafe Soulstice so much that I attempted to make it myself. I found this mock salmon pate recipe at Living and Raw Foods, but modified it because 1. I have a Type II allergy to almonds (I know...like how does that happen? The Cafe Soulstice version uses almonds also.) 2. I forgot to get lemons but I had a tangelo and 3. I don't like celery. Improvising is how cool discoveries are made.
For you purists, my version is not 100% raw which is why I'm calling it "raw-ish" as I used some roasted macadamia nuts and Nori as well as sea salt. I did use as much organic produce as possible, but you don't have to. Being a newbie to raw food cooking, I'm taking some liberties here. The important thing is to have fun and enjoy that you're doing the best you can.
Steph's ingredient list:
- 1 cup raw organic cashews (soaked overnight)
- 1 tiny handful of macadamia nuts*
- 1/4 cup chopped organic white onion
- 1 organic medium carrot. I chopped and used about 3/4 of it. You can use more for a brighter orange color to the pate.
- 1 tangelo. The juice from this small fruit comes to about 3 Tbsp.
- 1/8 cup of fresh carrot juice. I had made some the morning I made this pate so I used it. You can use purified water instead.
- 4 pieces of 2.5"x3.5" Korean Nori. Any Nori will do or you can use Dulse flakes.
- Sea salt to taste. I used about 1/8 tsp. Next time I might use a smidgen more for a saltier taste.
*I added the macadamias because I love these nuts and they have a nice fleshy tone to them, so I thought they might add to the pate. You don't have to do this.
Let's make our pate....
Start creatin':
- Throw into a food processor the cashews, macadamias, onion, carrot, Nori, and sea salt. When all ingredients are in add about 2 Tbsp of the tangelo juice and about half of the carrot juice. Don't put all the liquids in yet because you want to see what the consistency is like first. Too much liquid will make the pate too mushy.
- Note: For this small amount, I used a 3 cup food processor. I initially used a 7cup food processor and there wasn't enough "stuff" to get a smooth blend. The blades need more food volume to whip around to get that nice consistency. My version is enough for 1-2 people for a few days or for a party to use in horsdeouvres.
- Flip the processor switch on and process away for about a minute and a half. Take a taste and decide if it needs more salt or not to your liking.
- As well, check the consistency and add the rest of the liquid (or a bit more) if you think it needs it. It's better to slowly add in liquid than add it all at once because you can risk getting a sloppy mix which is not what we want. You want the pate to be smooth and creamy with some slight chunks so it looks like salmon.
- Flip the food processor on again and process for another 1.5-2 minutes until it looks like the desired consistency.
- It's ready to serve. Chill for an hour if you'd like a colder pate.
In the picture at the top of the post, I garnished the mock salmon pate with some organic Kelp Granules, and organic Seaweed Gomasio. These are not raw items, but for those of us who are trying raw foods for the first time it's a nice add for transitional taste. My salmon pate wasn't as tasty as Cafe Soulstice, but it was pretty darn close for a first timer.
Now that you have the pate, here are 7 snack ideas to enjoy the salmon.
