700 grams mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
80 grams butter
one shallot, finely chopped. Use red onion as option.
200 ml whipping cream
150 gram ham, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
100 ml port
salt and black pepper to taste
600 gram puff pastry - use frozen puff pastry
one egg yolk, beaten with a few drops of water
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F.
Clean and trim the mushrooms.
Heat the olive oil and half of the butter until hot. Sauté mushrooms for five minutes. Stir often, cook to remove moisture.
Add shallots/red onion, ham and cook for another minute.
Add the tarragon, port and reduce for three minutes on medium heat.
Add the cream, simmer over low heat for ten minutes.
Season with salt and pepper, cool thoroughly. You do not put a not mixture on a cold puff pastry.
Roll out 2/3 of the pastry to about 3 mm thickness.
Lightly butter a flan pan and line with the pastry. I use a springform pan and this works fine. Brush the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg yolk and put the mushroom mixture into the centre. Leave the painted edges exposed so that you can seal the top.
Roll out the rest of the pastry to make a lid. Layer this over the mushroom. Pinch to seat. Bursh the top of the pastry with the egg and make a "steam hole". Bake for 50 minutes. This serves six.
© Glenn Marcus