Romantic Wild Mushroom And Walnut Conchiglie For Two Recipes

PERSILLADE OF WILD MUSHROOMS WITH WALNUT OIL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Pick over mushrooms to discard leaves and twigs. Trim mushroom stems and brush them to remove grit. If very dirty, wash them by tossing in a large bowl of cold water, then lifting them out with your hands so grit falls to bottom of the bowl. Do not leave them to soak and absorb water. Drain them in a colander.
• Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic and push to the side of the chopping board. Chop the parsley, draw in shallots and garlic, and chop them briefly together. Stir them in a bowl with walnut oil. Cut any large mushrooms in 2 to 3 pieces and stir them all into the walnut mixture with salt and pepper.
• Spread mushrooms in a baking dish, cover loosely with foil and bake in oven 20 to 25 minutes or until mushrooms are soft. Remove foil, stir, and continue cooking mushrooms until tender and any liquid has evaporated, 10 to15 minutes longer.

WILD MUSHROOM PASTA

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pan and add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are brown and tender. Add the scallions and garlic and saute until tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then reserve.
• In a food processor, add the chicken stock, cream, gruyere, Parmesan, marsala, rosemary, thyme and roasted garlic, and pulse until well combined. Put the mixture in a pot over low heat and cook until the cheese is melted. Add the cream mixture to the mushrooms, season with salt and add the truffle oil.
• Cook the pasta to 1 minute shy of al dente. Toss the cooked pasta with the mushroom sauce. Add the shrimp and cook until cooked through. Serve topped with celery leaves and toasted pine nuts.

CREAMY WILD MUSHROOM RAGOUT

Steps:

• Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in mushrooms with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until any liquid evaporates and mushrooms are light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 1/2 tablespoon butter and shallots; cook, stirring, until mushrooms are caramelized and almost tender, about 10 minutes.
• Drizzle in Cognac and vinegar; cook until liquid evaporates, 1 minute. Stir in creme fraiche.
• Stir in chicken broth, marjoram, and salt and black pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low, cook until slightly thickened and mushrooms are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

WILD RICE WITH MUSHROOMS, CRANBERRIES AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Bring two medium pots salted water to a boil over high heat. Add wild rice to one and wheat berries to another, reduce heat to medium, and cook until tender, 30 to 35 minutes for wild rice and 20 to 25 minutes for wheat berries.
• While grains cook, put cranberries in small bowl, and cover with hot water. Soak 15 minutes, drain, and chop. Set aside.
• Heat canola oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, and sauté, stirring frequently, until mushrooms soften and begin to release their liquid, 8 to 10 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and transfer to a warm serving bowl. Stir in walnuts, shallots, parsley and cranberries.
• When grains are tender, drain them, and add them to bowl. Drizzle with walnut oil, and toss gently. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature.

WALNUT & WILD MUSHROOM TURNOVERS

Steps:

• Cook shallots in 1 Tbsp butter in skillet till soft.
• Add mushrooms, cook till all liquid from the mushrooms is evaporated.
• Add thyme, stock & simmer till mixture is almost dry.
• Remove from heat, stir in walnuts, sour cream, mustard, salt & pepper to taste.
• Melt remaining butter in saucepan.
• Preheat oven to 400.
• Roll bread one slice at a time with a rolling pin till paper thin.
• Mound 1 Tbsp of mushroom mixture in the center of bread slice, brush edges with melted butter, fold over into a triange and crimp edges.
• Repeat with remining bread & mushroom mix.
• Take care bread does not dry out. I use the cheapo white square stuff it gives a good seal when fresh.
• You can tightly wrap triangles at this point and refridge till ready to use. I have done this over night. Again the trick is to not let them dry out.
• Place triangles on cookie sheet, brush with melted butter and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

EXOTIC MUSHROOM AND WALNUT PATE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread walnuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Toast for 10 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly browned.
• In a large saute pan, cook shallots in butter over medium heat until translucent. Then add chopped mushrooms, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
• Process toasted walnuts and olive oil in a blender or food processor until mixture forms a thick paste. Spoon in the cooked mushroom mixture, and process to desired texture.
• Pack mixture into well-oiled ramekins or bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

WILD MUSHROOM TART WITH WALNUT CREAM

Steps:

• Make the pastry one day in advance by placing the flour and pinch of salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Sift by turning on and off once. Scatter the butter over the flour. Turn machine four or five times, or until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal. Sprinkle with two and one-half tablespoons of ice water and turn the machine on and off twice. Dump onto a work surface covered with a sheet of waxed paper. The dough should not be too crumbly; if it is, sprinkle with droplets of cold water - just enough to mass the dough together; don't let it get at all damp. Wrap tightly and chill overnight.
• Place the dough between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and roll out to make a large rectangle. Lift off the top sheet and fold the pastry dough into thirds. Turn the dough one-quarter and repeat rolling and folding once. Chill the dough for 20 minutes, then cut into eight equal-sized pieces. Roll out each portion to a paper-thin round and fit into mold or flan ring. Keep chilled until ready to bake. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
• Trim cepes' stems and wipe caps with a damp paper towel. Blanch for five minutes in salted boiling water; drain and press dry between paper toweling. Place the egg, prosciutto, bread, walnuts and shallots in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with metal blade and grind to a smooth paste, scraping down the insides of the work bowl from time to time. Scrape into a wide soup bowl, cover and refrigerate for three-quarters of an hour. Using a dinner fork, gradually work in small amounts of the cold cream into the walnut mixture. Each portion of cream must be blended in before the next is added. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spread an even, thin layer of the walnut mixture on the dough. Cut the cepes vertically into very thin slices; fan the slices slightly and place on top of the cream. Brush the surface with a little melted butter mixed with crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Bake on the middle oven shelf for 30 minutes. If using tartlet molds, cool on a wire rack for five minutes before turning out. Sprinkle the mushrooms with a few drops of walnut oil. Serve with a strong sweet chilled wine, such as Sherry.