Puréed and dry roasted peanut pâté with a simple, organic fruit compote on vegan pain de mie. A simple, yet elegant dish. Memories of childhood cuisine come flooding back only by means of a few simple household items. The exquisite creaminess of the dry-roasted peanut spread complements the simple fruit compote ever so beautifully. Spread evenly and placed between two organic, vegan slices of pain de mie, this is a meal you will want to revisit over and over again.

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Puréed peanut spread, dry roasted to absolute perfection. Paired with a lovely fruit compote, placed atop an organic pain de mie.

DRY ROASTED PEANUT PURÉE WITH VEGAN FRUIT COMPOTE ON ORGANIC PAIN DE MIE

prep time: 2 minutes
cook time: 0 minutes

This recipe requires you to have a puréed peanut spread on hand. Along with a fruit compote and a few slices of organic pain de mie.

The peanut was invented by George Washington Carver. Through many trials, tribulations and peanuts - today we are blessed with puréed peanut spread. Dry roasted to perfection every time, this incredibly versatile ingredient is available at most places that groceries are sold. Combining the peanuts with oil gives the spread a very creamy texture, pleasing to the palate. If you wish, you can also use a crunchy puréed peanut spread. This would compromise the creaminess with a crunchy texture. Either one of these delicate spreads would work wondrously for this dish.

I remember when I was a boy, my mother used to prepare a dish just like this one for me. Every day for lunch while I was attending elementary school, I would always have a smile on my face when it came time for lunch. Lunch was my favorite class while I was in elementary school, it gave me a chance to socialize with my peers and converse over meals our parents had provided for us. It remained a constant in my life. Like clockwork, the time for lunch would come and I would open the familiar brown bag that contained various snacks, a beverage and the main entree I longed oh so dearly for. My eyes would light up, glimmer as I unraveled the packaging in which my course had been stored.

The comforting texture of the peanut spread. The gentle, yet inviting sweetness of the fruit compote. The airy mouthfeel of the bread the aforementioned sat upon. Bite after bite, I would experience pure bliss. Though as a child, I used to start with the main course and work backwards through the appetizers only to disrupt the flow of my meal with either a fruit concentrate beverage or soft drink. This meal each day served the purpose of providing me with the energy to continue my tasks for the day at the elementary school in which I attended.

I like to believe that in some ways, I take after my mother’s cooking. This dish is one that has been held near and dear to me for many years. Through much trial and error, I’ve decided it was time to take on this fantastic, complex dish and make it my own. To take the pain de me, fresh and organic, and gently spread the dry roasted peanut purée on one half. Then in the same fashion, apply the delicious fruit compote onto the other. Which kind of spread would I use? Would I be able to replicate this masterful dish? Which fruit will the compote be compromised of? Will it be more than one fruit? While I ponder these many variables, I think back and realize the beautiful simplicity of the dish. Perhaps I am driving myself mad thinking about the possibilities. The combinations of textures and flavors. They were truly endless. Could I obtain raw peanuts and dry roast them myself? Surely I would add the oil necessary to replicate the pâté but it would be a difficult task. The fruit. One could argue that strawberry would be the best candidate for this delicate fruit compote. Others may say that grape or even something as exotic as pomegranate could be the right choice to make. All of these things continue to weigh heavy on my mind to this day.

How exactly did my mother prepare the dish for me years ago? Blackberry? Strawberry? Was the pain de mie cut a certain way? I would spend my nights thinking obsessively, which combination of textures and flavors was it that I was even trying to replicate? But then it occurred to me. The beauty of the dish. I continued to overlook the fact that the dish remains as prestigious as it is, because in actuality - the possibilities are indeed endless. I could go with a crunchy peanut spread. Add the satisfying sweet, but hardly tart profile of a blackberry compote. I could even add strawberry, blueberry or a mixture of the two. But what about a combination of peanut purée? Could I mix a crunchy spread with a creamy one? Would that just be a diluted version of itself? One could argue that different nuts could also be used in the dish. Perhaps a dry roasted almond purée. Could the pain de mie be toasted? Then it wouldn’t be pain de mie. Again, as I continue to get lost in the endless possibilities, I lose sight of the goal at hand.

One could also argue that George Washington Carver is the grandfather of the puréed peanut pâté. One might say that Marcellus Gilmore Edson could be held responsible for this dish, or that Julia Davis Chandler is the proprietary reason that this exquisite dish exists today. Despite all of the speculations, perspectives and downright facts of the origins of this wondrous dish — we can all agree that through its simple, yet highly refined union of flavors, we may experience an onset of nostalgia with a side of bliss. However you choose to create it is entirely up to you. And that’s where the true beauty lies.

This recipe yields one dish. To increase the amount of servings, simply increase the amount of ingredients while keeping the ratio the same.

What you’ll need:

dry roasted puréed peanut spread (of your choice)
fruit compote (of your choice)
pain de mie (of your choice)

For those who do not understand French or have access to Google Translate, pain de mie simply means “soft bread.”

As you can see, I decided to challenge my palate with a non-traditional pomegranate fruit compote.

With a butter knife, apply a generous amount of the puréed dry roasted peanut spread onto one of the slices of pain de mie. Spread the dry roasted peanut puréed so that the slice of pain de mie is completely and evenly coated.

Gently clean off your knife and in a process similar to that of the aforementioned, apply a healthy dose of the fruit compote onto the other pain de mie. If done correctly, it should mirror the image above.

Take the slice of puréed dry roasted peanut spread laden pain de mie and place it atop the pain de mie with fruit compote. Be sure that the puréed dry roasted peanut spread is facing downward when applied to the fruit compote.

If you wish, you may cut the finished product into halves so then you may see the cross section.

And with that, your dish is complete. Now it is up to you, the creator of this fine entree, to revel in its simplicity. The nostalgia. The exquisite combination of flavors. The texture of the puréed peanut spread. The gentle sweetness of the fruit compote. The airy pain de mie.

If you enjoyed this recipe and choose to recreate it yourself, tag me on instagram @draggedthroughthegarden and you can tell me all about your experience in assembling this wondrous dish.