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a mushroom and gruyère tart

27/9/2013

8 Comments

 
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Oh, the wonderful world of ready-made puff pastry. Buy a  500g block, cut it into six pieces*, and freeze them. They take no time at all to defrost and are perfect as the basis for a simple mid-week dinner. Roll a piece out to your desired thickness and make the shape you require - a rectangle, square or round. Add your chosen toppings, bung in the oven for 20 minutes or so and serve with a crisp, green salad and maybe some sautéed potatoes or a hunk of good bread. There's already a few ideas in the recipe section:
  • taleggio and onion tart
  • gruyère and chorizo tart with a poached egg
  • asparagus and parmesan tart
  • pancetta and mushroom tart
  • goat's cheese tart
* Unwrap the pastry block and divide in half lengthways. Cut each half into three equal-sized pieces. Wrap each piece in cling-film and freeze.

And here's a recipe for a mushroom tart I made last night:
serves 2
a slice of butter
½ onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
150g baby chestnut mushrooms (halved or quartered depending on size)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsps apple juice
2 tbsps double cream
100g gruyère, grated
salt + black pepper

2 x portions of puff pastry (see above)

Melt the slice of butter in a pan, add the onion and garlic and fry gently until softened. Add the mushrooms and thyme and fry until cooked through. Turn up the heat a little, add the apple juice and cook until there's almost no liquid left. Now add the cream and cheese and a goodly amount of black pepper. Stir until the cheese has melted. Taste and add salt as required - it won't need a lot, if any.

Roll the pastry portions into two 165mm x 125mm rectangles. With a sharp knife, score the two rectangles 10mm in from each edge. Bake on a baking tray in a  200C/180C fan oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. The pastry will have puffed up. Flatten the insides of each piece with the back of a spatula, so you have a distinct border to hold in the filling.

Divide the filling between the two pastry cases and return to the oven for approximately 15 minutes, checking after 10 minutes, until the pastry borders are crisp and golden.
8 Comments
V
27/9/2013 11:14:41

Good to see you back in the Feedly. Cheered the day after much.
Great tip for low cost, easy and stylish dins :)

Reply
The Skint Foodie
13/10/2013 10:59:03

Cheers V!

Reply
europhile
27/9/2013 11:58:35

Hah! I made this the night before last with a sheet of Tesco ready-rolled puff pastry. There was enought for six people and two of us scoffed the lot. Delicious.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/butternut-ricotta-tart-fiery-rocket-salad

Reply
The Skint Foodie
13/10/2013 11:00:32

I can definitely see that working.

Reply
Charlie Edmunds link
28/9/2013 05:49:59

I have some ready-rolled (even lazier!) puff pastry left over from making sausage rolls - this looks like a great idea.

Reply
Jen
28/9/2013 11:06:30

Fab. Love a puff pastry tart. A delicious topping which I found in a Nigel Slater book is to generously spread the pastry with green pesto and layer on slices of tomato, drizzle of oil. V yum.

Reply
ezyesta link
26/11/2013 03:31:14

Why had I never thought of this? I tended to stay away because puff pastry serves so many, but cutting up and freezing. Ha, Well, I shall be on the look out in Heron next time I am in there. They seem to like selling pastry for very cheap. Thanks for the ideas. Tomato and goats cheese tart here I come. :)

Reply
Jon
28/12/2013 13:34:16

Me and my girlfriend just made this and we were blown away! We will be working our way through your other recipes so expect similar comments popping up randomly over the next couple of months...

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  • blog
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