Mushroom Tarte

I saw a recipe for a mushroom tarte in the fall edition of the LCBO Food and Drink magazine, which I carefully cut out and held safely in my purse for several weeks until I decided that I was quite in the mood for mushroom tarte. It's sort of like when I decide I need a haircut, I really need a haircut. Right away. 

Of course, I'd lost the recipe. No matter. There's nothing much in a mushroom tarte other than some mushrooms...oh, and a bit of cream , of course. This made-up-on-the-spot recipe was actually pretty good. And in case you're interested, I don't need a haircut.

Ingredients:

• 2   277 g. containers of sliced mushroom, one of white mushrooms and the other, cremini (or whatever combination you like)
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1/2 cup of 35% cream (aka. whipping cream)
• 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• sufficient pastry for a single pastry shell ( see post dated Oct. 2, 2012 on this blog)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Sauté the onions and mushrooms in the butter until soft, add the rosemary, salt, pepper, and cream and simmer until the cream has reduced slightly. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and allow the mixture to cool somewhat. Roll out your pastry and fit it into the bottom of a pie plate or fluted tarte pan if you're fancy. Bake in the pre-heated oven until the crust is a lovely golden brown.



Prior to popping in the oven.

Deb Perelman's Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette

This is  a recipe from the cookbook that is new to my bookshelf, The Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman. I served this savoury galette at a recent brunch to rave reviews. Christine ate half of it. I think she liked it.

Interestingly, the flavour of the squash was good even though it was not entirely ripe. Why did I use an unripe vegetable you might ask? It's because I get flustered by people who sell gourds, alright? Let's leave it at that.

Ingredients:

• a 2.5 pound butternut squash
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1and 1/2 teaspoons salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cups of grated fontina cheese
• 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh sage (I used dry sage and it seemed to work) 
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon of water for the pastry glaze
• a single pie crust ( see recipe on this blog under the label 'Pastry") 

First prepare the squash. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and seed the squash, then cut it into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes. Toss it in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes or until the squash is tender, turning occasionally to ensure even browning. Set aside to cool but leave the oven on. 

While the squash is roasting, melt the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet and cook the onions over medium low heat with the sugar and the remaining teaspoon of salt, stirring occasionally until soft and tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the cayenne pepper if you're using it.

Mix the squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl. To assemble the galette, roll the dough out to a 16 inch round. Transfer the rolled dough to a parchment covered baking sheet. Spread the squash, cheese and onion mixture over the centre of the circle of dough leaving a 2 to 2 and 1/2 inch border.

Fold the border over the filling, pleating the dough to make it fit. The centre will be open. Brush the outside of the crust with the egg yolk wash and bake until golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes. This can be served warm or at room temperature.

Torta Rustica di Pecorino e Ciauscolo a.k.a. Sausage and Romano Cheese Country Tart

 

Garnished with more chickpeas and thinly sliced onions.

I have slightly adapted one of the recipes from my cooking vacation in Norcia by suggesting the use of ground sausage meat rather than cured meat. Either works. It is the aromatics in this savoury pie (the rosemary and the orange zest) that really make the difference.

 

What you see in the photo above is an individual-sized portion containing a single 0.5 cm. slice of salumi.  Salumi are Italian cured meats predominantly made from pork. The word is derived from the word salume (pl. salumi) meaning "salted meat", which in turn originates from Latin sal meaning "salt".

 

FYI, all you pedantic types out there, what we in North America call salami is a specific type of salumi.

 

Ingredients for one large tart:

·         8 ounces puff pastry

·         10 oz (250 gm) mild sausage

          ( cook it first if using ground meat; slice it if using a cured   meat)

·         ¾ cup boiled chickpeas ( or tinned chickpeas rinsed)

·         1 small twig of fresh rosemary

·         pepper to taste

·         ½ cup of pecorino cheese chopped into small pieces or grated

·         2 cups heavy cream

·         5 eggs

·         zest of one orange

 

Mix the filling for the tart by combining the eggs, grated orange peel, cream, pepper, rosemary, and pecorino cheese. Let this mixture rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. In the meantime roll out the puff pastry into a round and fit the dough into a large pie plate. Cover the pastry on the bottom of the pie plate with the sausage and chickpeas. Pour in the prepared filling and bake the tart at 340 degrees F. for 40 minutes.