A quick and easy vegan spread that's full of umami flavours and packed with goodness. It's delicious on crackers or toast and it makes a great sandwich with cucumber or pickles and lettuce.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions and fry over a low heat for five minutes or until the onions are translucent.
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 small onion
Meanwhile, wipe and roughly chop the mushrooms, then turn up the heat to medium and add to the pan along with the cumin. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
175 g chestnut mushrooms, ½ tsp cumin seeds
Add the garlic, thyme and salt and cook until any water from the mushrooms has evaporated - about another couple of minutes.
Add the wine or vinegar & water mixture and cook for a further minute. Take off the heat and allow to cool a little.
1 tbsp vegan white wine
Meanwhile toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over a moderate heat. Stir frequently to avoid burning. When they have browned nicely, about ten minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
50 g walnuts
Blitz everything, including the beans, in a blender or food processor until almost smooth. I like to have a bit of texture, but how smooth you blend it is entirely up to you. I used my Optimum Vac2 power blender.
400 g tinned butter beans (lima beans), 2 tsp tamari (affiliate link), freshly ground black pepper
Spoon into appropriate containers and serve or store in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
You can swap the butter beans for your preferred bean, but butter beans have a particularly creamy texture.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They're approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.