Sep 28, 2020
Baked polenta tart with sautéed mushrooms, caramelised red onion, and spinach
Ingredients
Polenta tart base:
1 cup coarse polenta
1 garlic clove, minced
500 ml vegetable or chicken stock
⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 ½ tsp rosemary leaves
1 tbsp unsalted butter for cooking
Sea salt to taste
Tart toppings:
150 g Swiss Brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
100 g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
150 g (1 bunch) English spinach, rinsed, ripped into smaller pieces
1 red onion thinly sliced into half moons
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
100 g marinated goats cheese
Unsalted butter for cooking
Sea salt to taste
To serve:
Parsley, roughly chopped
Directions
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Lightly grease a 35cm pie tin and set aside.
Warm up a heavy base medium saucepan to medium heat, add a knob of butter. Once the butter has melted, add the minced garlic and sauté until it turns a light golden colour. Add the polenta and stir thoroughly to coat in butter.
Gradually pour in the stock while continually stirring to prevent lumps forming. Once the polenta thickens and the grains soften, add the grated parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, pinch of salt and a good amount of cracked pepper.
Remove from the heat and turn the polenta out into the pie tin. Using a spatula, level out the polenta and allow for a nice thick side crust (the pie crust is meant to be thicker than a traditional pastry crust). Trim off any excess.
Place the tart casing in the oven to cook for 25-30 minutes or until it becomes crispy and a darker golden colour.
To cook the caramelised onion, add a knob of butter to a heavy base frying pan. Add the thinly sliced red onion and allow to sweat down, stirring until the onions become translucent and soft.
Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and stir through. Cook for a further 5 minutes while the sugar dissolves and the balsamic vinegar caramelises. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In the same fry pan on medium heat add a small knob of butter and the English spinach. Sauté until it becomes soft and wilted, remove from the heat and set aside.
Using the same fry pan, add a knob of butter followed by the sliced mushrooms and the thyme. Sauté until the mushrooms become tender and juicy. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To fill the tart, spread out the caramelised onion across the base. Follow with the wilted spinach and top with the sautéed mushrooms. Finish off with spoonfuls of marinated goats cheese, a drizzle of the oil from the cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley over the top.
Serve warm straight away.
Nov 18, 2019
Crunchy Soft Mushroom Tacos
Ingredients
Baja Sauce
1 jalapeño, roughly chopped
10 pickled green peppercorns
½ bunch coriander, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced
3 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt, to taste
Corn salsa
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tin canned corn
2 tomatoes, cores removed, diced same size corn kernels
Leaves from ½ bunch coriander
½ red onion, diced size of kernels
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeño, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mexican Mushrooms
4 flat mushrooms, cut in thick slices
3 tbsp Mexican seasoning
1 tsp dried chilli optional
Splash extra virgin olive oil
Crunchy Soft Tacos
6 taco shells
6 soft tortillas, softened on an open flame (or in the microwave)
2 ripe avocados
Splash lime juice
Dash extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp sour cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
Baja Sauce
Combine all ingredients in a mortar and pestle (or a small food processor) until all ingredients are smooth. Set aside.
Corn Salsa
Heat up 1tbsp olive oil in a medium sized pan over a high heat. Sauté corn for 2 minutes until golden, add to a bowl with the rest of ingredients, then mix together. Set aside
Mexican Mushrooms
Then, marinate the mushrooms with all ingredients, panfry on a medium heat for 2 minutes on each side, to avoid burning the marinade. Set aside.
Crunchy Soft Tacos
Finally, cut both avocados in half and remove each pip, setting aside. Using a fork inside each half, mash the avocado together with lime juice, sour cream and olive oil to form a rough guacamole.
To preserve the bright green and avoid oxidation, you can return the pips to the centre of the avocados and stick the halves together to close till you are ready to use.
Spread each soft tortilla with a spoonful of guacamole, then wrap around the hard taco shell.
Gently press the soft tortilla to the sides of the hard taco shells, using the guacamole as a glue. Repeat with remaining taco shells and soft tortillas
To serve, spoon a little of the salsa into the base of the hard taco, top with Mexican mushrooms and drizzle with baja sauce. Eat immediately.
Oct 9, 2019
Mushrooms on Sourdough, Spanish Style
Ingredients
½ fresh garlic clove
2 slices crusty bread (fresh or even a few days old), toasted or grilled
1 large ripe tomato, at room temperature
Generous drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ tsp Pinch Spanish paprika
200 g Swiss Brown mushrooms, halved (1x punnet)
1 tbsp butter
½ lemon, zested and juice
3 sprigs thyme
4 thin slices Jamón Serrano (remove if vegetarian)
Directions
Rub the fresh garlic against the grilled sourdough.
Halve the tomato and grate it on a box grater, discarding the skin onto a plate.
Place the grated tomato onto a plate, then add a splash of olive oil and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Stir to combine.
Spoon the ‘tomato sauce’ onto the 2 slices of bread.
On a griddle pan on high heat with a splash of olive oil, grill the mushrooms for 2 minutes each side till marked with grill lines. Then add butter, lemon zest, juice, and thyme and baste the mushrooms with a spoon.
Top bread with thinly sliced Jamón Serrano and mushrooms.
Top tip
Enjoy as is or try it with fried eggs and haloumi. Choose good quality sourdough, like Brasserie Bread, to best compliment the mushrooms and absorb the delicious flavours.
Sep 2, 2019
Mushroom and Bacon Quiche
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
250 g cups or Swiss Brown mushrooms, sliced
1 brown onion, finely chopped
150 g (3 rashers) rindless bacon, chopped
2 sheets frozen shortcrust pastry, thawed
¾ cup grated tasty cheese
3 eggs
½ cup thickened cream
½ cup full cream milk
3 tsp corn flour
2 tsp Dijon mustard
rocket leaves & shoestring fries, to serve
Directions
Heat medium frying pan over high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon oil and half the mushrooms. Cook, shaking pan often for 2 minutes. Remove to a plate. Repeat with remaining mushrooms. Cool.
Add the onion and bacon to the pan, cook, stirring often 4 minutes until bacon just starts to colour. Remove to a plate to cool.
Place a large flat tray into the oven. Preheat tray and oven to 200°C fan forced. Cut a 22cm round from 1 sheet pastry. Cut 3x5cm-wide strips from the remaining sheet pastry. Place strips around the edge of ungreased, 22cm (base) springform pan. Place the round into the base, press edges to seal. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Place a sheet baking paper over the pastry. Half fill with dried beans, rice or weights. Place pan onto the hot tray. Bake for 15 minutes until edges are light golden. Remove paper and beans. Bake for a further 5-7 minutes until pastry is light golden all over. Remove the springform pan, leaving the tray in the oven.
Spread the bacon mixture, mushrooms and cheese evenly over pastry case. Whisk eggs, cream, milk, cornflour and mustard together. Pour over the filling. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Place onto the tray in the oven and bake for 30-32 minutes, until golden and set. Cut into wedges, serve with rocket leaves and fries.
Variation: Replace the onion with ¼ cup store bought caramelized onion jam
Meatless option: Increase the mushrooms to 350g and replace bacon with 1 bunch rocket, shredded. Sauté for 1 minute with the onion.
May 13, 2019
Spanish Mushroom Toastie
Ingredients
Butter
2 slices bread
1 ripe truss tomato
Small handful Swiss Brown, button or cup mushrooms
½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 small clove garlic, finely grated
¾ cup grated Manchego Cheese, tasty, or other cheese
3 thin slices Jamon Serrano or prosciutto
3 sage leaves
Directions
Lightly butter the 2 slices of bread on both sides.
Grate the tomato into a large bowl, discard the leftover peel.
Thinly slice the mushrooms, pan-fry over a high heat with a knob of butter and splash of olive oil until golden and set aside.
Add the garlic and olive oil to the grated tomato and season well.
Spread the grated cheese on one slice of bread.
Top with the tomato mixture, and mushrooms and close the sandwich.
Wrap the sandwich in the slices of jamon.
Place sage leaves on top of the sandwich and place the toastie in a preheated press.
Cook for 5 minutes or until the sage leaves and jamon are crisp and the cheese is melted.
Leave to cool for 5 minutes before eating.
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