Wild Mushroom Tort Recipes

WILD MUSHROOM TART

Steps:

• Make the tart dough: Put the 2 cups flour and salt in the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (If you don't have one, you can prepare the dough by hand.) With the mixer set on low speed, work half of the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add remaining butter cubes and ice water, and mix just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very soft, studded with butter chunks and a bit sticky - this is correct.
• You should have 550 grams/20 ounces of dough. Divide into 2 (275-gram/10-ounce) balls. Dust each with a little flour and press into a disk about 1-inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Dust the work surface with flour. Press one disk into a rough square, then roll it into a 6-by-12-inch sheet. Fold the sheet in half, making a 6-inch square. Dust with flour lightly, as necessary, and roll the square into a 6-by-12-inch sheet again, then fold in half to make a 6-inch square. Finally, roll dough into a 6-by-18-inch sheet, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate, wrapped, for 30 minutes to keep dough from shrinking when baked, or freeze. (Roll out the rest of the dough at your leisure, then freeze for the future, or refrigerate and use within 2 days.)
• Make the filling: Set a wide skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When oil is wavy, add onions. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove onions and set aside.
• In the same pan over medium-high heat, add mushrooms (and a little more oil if necessary). Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and red-pepper flakes (if using), stir well and turn off heat. Combine mushrooms and onions, set aside and let cool to room temperature. (Filling can be made several hours in advance and left at room temperature, if desired.)
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a small rubber spatula, spread crème fraîche over the pastry sheet, leaving a 1-inch border. Distribute onion-mushroom mixture evenly over the crème fraîche. Dust with Parmesan and fold pastry edges up, pinching at the corners to form a low rim. Bake until pastry is crisp and golden and top of mixture is lightly browned, about 30 to 35 minutes.
• Slide baked tart onto a cutting board and pull away the parchment. Let tart cool slightly before cutting. Sprinkle with parsley and cut tart crosswise into wide slices (or, if preferred, into wedges). Serve warm.

WILD MUSHROOM TARTLETS

Steps:

• Roll the pastry out on a floured surface and cut out 4 circles, about 15cm wide. Leave to chill on a lined baking tray in the fridge.
• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Heat a large frying pan until hot, then add the butter and fry the mushrooms for 5 mins until there is no liquid left in the pan. Season, then take off the heat and mix mushrooms with the Parmesan, parsley and garlic.
• Score a 1cm border around the edge of each tart, then spoon the mushrooms into the centre circle. Brush the edge with beaten egg, then bake the tarts for 20 mins until puffed up and golden. Serve immediately.

WILD MUSHROOM PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallot; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low and add mushrooms. Cook and stir until mushrooms reduce by half, about 15 minutes. Stir in roasted garlic, Parmesan cheese, and thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in cream. Remove from heat and allow mushroom mixture to cool. It will thicken as it cools.
• Unfold pastry sheet onto floured surface and lightly roll into a 12 x 15 inch square. Cut into eighteen 3 inch squares. Place a mounded teaspoon of mushroom filling in the center of each square. Fold pastry over filling to form a triangle. Pinch edges firmly together with a fork to seal.
• Bake 12 to 16 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.

WILD MUSHROOM AND GRUYèRE TART WITH FRESH HERB SALAD

Steps:

• For tart:
• Puree ricotta in processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Add 1 yolk and 2 teaspoons oil and blend. Transfer ricotta mixture to bowl; fold in crème fraîche.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté 7 minutes. Mix in thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add butter and sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes longer. Mix in green onions.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Roll out puff pastry on lightly floured surface to 13x9-inch rectangle. Using sharp knife and starting 1/4 inch in from edge, cut score line around entire perimeter of dough, cutting halfway through. Brush 1/4-inch dough border with glaze. Transfer dough to ungreased heavy baking sheet. Spread ricotta mixture over dough, inside border. Top with half of mushrooms, half of Gruyère, then remaining mushrooms and Gruyère. Bake tart until crust is golden and Gruyère melts, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare salad:
• Toss herbs with oil and lemon juice in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cut tart into rectangles. Transfer to plates. Garnish with herb salad.

SAUTEED WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Brush the caps of each mushroom with a clean sponge. Remove and discard the stems. Slice the small mushrooms thickly and cut the large ones in a large dice.
• Heat the olive oil in a large (11 - inch) Dutch oven or saucepan. Add the shallots and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until the shallots are translucent. Add the butter, mushrooms, salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes, until they are tender and begin to release their juices, stirring often. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 more minutes. Toss in the parsley, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm.

WILD MUSHROOM AND GRUYèRE TART

Steps:

• Puree ricotta in processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Add 1 yolk and 2 teaspoons oil and blend. .
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and sauté 7 minutes. Mix in thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add butter and sauté until mushrooms are tender, about 4 minutes longer. Mix in green onions.
• Preheat oven to 400°F Roll out puff pastry on lightly floured surface to 13x9-inch rectangle. Using sharp knife and starting 1/4 inch in from edge, cut score line around entire perimeter of dough, cutting halfway through. Cut into quarters and score the middle of each quarter. (If you have a convection over you can bake it whole.).
• Pre-bake puff pastry for 10-15 minutes until just golden. Let cool for 5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and brush 1/4-inch border with glaze. Transfer pastry to ungreased heavy baking sheet. Spread ricotta mixture over dough, inside border. Top with Gruyère, then mushrooms. Bake tart until crust is golden and Gruyère melts, about 15 minutes.

WILD MUSHROOM TART

Steps:

• For crust:
• Blend flour and salt in processor. Cut in butter using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add enough water to blend dough. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic, chill 45 minutes.
• Roll out dough on floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Trim edges, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang in to form double-thick sides. Press tart edges to raise dough 1/8 inch above pan. Chill 30 minutes.
• For filling:
• Bring 1 cup water to boil in saucepan. Add porcini; remove from heat and let stand 30 minutes. Spoon porcini from liquid; reserve liquid. Coarsely chop porcini.
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add porcini and crimini mushrooms. Season with salt; sauté until deep golden, about 10 minutes. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes. Add Cognac and reserved porcini liquid, leaving any sand behind in saucepan. Boil until almost all liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Mix in 1 tablespoon herbs. Cool.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans; bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese in crust. Cover with mushrooms. Whisk cream, yolks, egg and 1 tablespoon herbs in bowl. Pour custard over mushrooms. Top with remaining cheese. Bake until filling is set and top is golden, about 30 minutes. Cool on rack 15 minutes.

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.