Shan's Beans and more: Mushroom Tarts

Friday, December 31, 2021

Mushroom Tarts

This recipe is from Chef Rachel Bayes and published in the Walleye Dec. 2021

Makes about 24 tarts

Mary Lou made these over Christmas. She used them as a first course in a dinner with her neighbour.

Make ahead: This recipe freezes well--just assemble, bake, and reheat at 350 F for about five minutes. Or you can assemble the tarts in muffin pans and refrigerate, ready to pop in the oven as your guests arrive.

Ingredients and Method combined:

2 large onions, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

Add onions to the oil/butter and cook on medium-low for a looooong time, stirring often, until they are deep golden brown. You want them to cook slow and low to caramelize and deepen the flavours.

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

8 oz mushrooms, finely chopped.

Stir the salt, sugar, and mushrooms into the onions. Cook until the mushrooms are softened and have released their liquid (maybe 10 minutes).

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried parsley

(you can sub in rosemary or Italian seasoning if you'd rather. Mary Lou used Donato's Italian seasoning)

Stir in the garlic and the herbs. Cook a couple of minutes more. Turn off the heat.

2 tsp lemon juice

Stir into oniony mixture

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

Unfold the pastry on a floured surface and role out to a 18" by 9 " rectangle. Cut into 18, 3" rounds (or squares). The size depends on the size of the muffin cups you plan to use, as the pastry needs to fit into the muffin pans (bottom and sides). You can use mini pans or regular pans. Press scraps into a ball, roll out again, and cut six or so more. Press the cut-outs into the muffin tin cups. Use a tooth pick to poke holes in the centres of the puff pastry cups to make sure they don't puff too much while baking.

1 egg

1 tbsp water

Beat egg and water together. Brush on pastry cups. Spoon2 tbsp mushroom mix into pastry cups (or less if using minis).

1 cup finely shredded cheese (such as Gruyere, fontina, Asiago, Emmental, taleggio

Top tarts with 1/2-1 tbsp cheese and bake until they are golden brown, 18-20 minutes for the large ones and less for the minis. Remove from pans and garnish with chopped fresh thyme or parsley.