Growing up in a German family I ate my fair share of crispbread or Knäckebrot, as we call it. Sometimes dinner consisted mainly of it, some hearty cheeses, liver pâté and maybe a side of cucumber salad – heavy on the onions. I’m still a pretty hard-core Knäckebrot fan to this day. If a coworker brings in bagels for a special office treat I almost always pass them up and reach for my stash of crispy bread – yeah, I have an entire office drawer full of the stuff. I would prefer to crunch away at a light, crispy cracker than chew on some white, squishy, doughy stuff. Mark doesn’t share my love (more like obsession) for Knäckebrot but he did eat the hell out of it when I topped it with this super savory combo of almond cheese, black bean pâté and onion jam. Remember these toasts that Jacob made for the food photography workshop!? I haven’t been able to get them out of my mind since. Seriously, for months I’ve been thinking about recreating them because they made such a lasting impression on my tastebuds. Well today this amazing flavor fusion is in my mouth again and I’m a very happy girl. It blows my mind that something can taste so super savory and be completely vegan. The onion jam alone is something you should keep in the fridge at all times – it’s made with an apple cider reduction so the sweetness is way more complex and delicious than if you were to just add sugar. The end result is a thick and jammy pot of gorgeous gold. It all requires some time on the stove to caramelize, simmer and bubble to build up slow-cooked savory flavors. So worth it though.
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Step 1
Slice the onions into thin rings. Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pan. Sauté onions with a generous pinch of salt on medium/medium low heat for 35 minutes or so until they turn translucent and start to caramelize. Add the apple cider reduction and apple cider vinegar. Sauté some more until the onions turn thick and jammy and most liquid has evaporated.
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Step 2
Place the ingredients for the pate in a small pot on medium/low heat. Let the mixture cook for about 35 minutes or until the beans are mushy. Stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Discard the onion end piece and bay leaves.
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Step 3
Place apple cider in a small saucepan on medium heat. Let steam and reduce by half. This takes about 35 minutes. Use 1/4 cup of the reduction on the onions for the jam and keep the rest in the fridge for salad dressings, more onion jam, etc.
Ingredients for the Onion Jam
4 large sweet onions
1/3 cup apple cider reduction (see below)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
enough olive oil to coat the pan so the onions don’t stick
generous pinch of salt (more to taste)
Directions
Slice the onions into thin rings. Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pan. Sauté onions with a generous pinch of salt on medium/medium low heat for 35 minutes or so until they turn translucent and start to caramelize. Add the apple cider reduction and apple cider vinegar. Sauté some more until the onions turn thick and jammy and most liquid has evaporated. Let cool slightly, place in jar and keep in the fridge.
Ingredients for the Apple Cider Reduction
1 cup of apple cider
Directions
Place apple cider in a small saucepan on medium heat. Let steam and reduce by half. This takes about 35 minutes. Use 1/3 cup of the reduction on the onions for the jam and keep the rest in the fridge for salad dressings, more onion jam, etc.
Ingredients for the Black Bean Pâté
2 cans black beans, drained
an onion end piece from the above onions (discard after cooking)
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dark miso
couple dashes liquid smoke
salt to taste
Directions
Place the ingredients for the pate in a small pot on medium/low heat. Let the mixture cook for about 35 minutes or until the beans are mushy. Stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Discard the onion end piece and bay leaves. Mush it all up some more and place in jar.
Assemble crisps with a schmear of almond cheese – homemade or store-bought, as shown. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
Notes
FINN CRISP shared some boxes of their crispbread with me – it only has four ingredients: wholegrain rye flour, water, salt and yeast. I think that’s pretty awesome and I like them a lot. All opinions are my own.