Mushroom and Chestnut Pâté with Thyme

• 400 g Mushrooms, firm brown or white cultivated mushrooms
• 150 g Roasted chestnuts, ready-to-eat, peeled and unsweetened
• 80 g Shallot
• 30 g Unsalted butter
• 4 sprigs Fresh thyme
• 100 g Cream cheese, full-fat, plain
• 1 small Lemon
• ½ tsp Fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp Black pepper
• 200 g Crusty white bread

1. Wipe the mushrooms clean and chop into roughly 1 cm pieces, then peel and finely chop the shallots. Strip the leaves from three thyme sprigs and set the fourth sprig aside for serving, then break up the chestnuts and squeeze the lemon.
2. Melt the butter in a 30 cm frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened without browning.
3. Add the mushrooms, thyme leaves, salt and pepper and cook over a medium-high heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mushrooms are browned and the pan looks dry. Reduce the heat if the shallots begin to catch.
4. Spread the cooked mixture in a shallow dish and leave for 15 minutes until warm rather than hot. Do not leave it standing for a long cooling period.
5. Put the chestnuts, cream cheese and lemon juice in a food processor with the warm mushroom mixture. Pulse, scraping down the sides, until spreadable with small mushroom flecks, then divide between two clean 300 ml ramekins and smooth the tops.
6. Cover and refrigerate the ramekins for at least 2 hours until chilled and firm enough to spread. The stated total time includes this chilling period.
7. Slice the bread and serve alongside one ramekin, scattering the leaves from the reserved thyme sprig over the pâté. Keep the second ramekin refrigerated until needed and provide a clean spreading knife.

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