Heavenly Morel Or Mushroom Tarts Recipes

MUSHROOM TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Heat 2 large saute pans over high heat. Working in batches divide the olive oil between the 2 pans. When the oil is hot but not quite smoking, add the mushrooms, season with gray salt and pepper, add the butter to each pan and allow to caramelize. Once mushrooms have cooked down to half their volume, transfer all mushrooms to 1 pan. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until the light brown and fragrant. Add the thyme until it crackles. Add the cream and bring up to a simmer. Reduce the cream by about half and stir in the grated parmesan, and the lemon juice. Shut off the flame and quickly stir in the beaten egg. Remove from the stove and let cool to room temperature. Add parsley and stir.
• While mushroom mixture is cooling, roll out the pastry dough on a floured surface. Roll the dough out so that it will line a 10-inch removable bottom tart pan. Line the dough with parchment paper and fill with the dry beans. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Remove beans and paper.
• Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
• When both the filling and shell have cooled to room temperature fill the shell with the mushroom mixture and top with the crumbled blue cheese. Arrange the tart mold on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before serving. Slice in wedges and serve.

WILD MUSHROOM TART

Steps:

• Make the tart dough: Put the 2 cups flour and salt in the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (If you don't have one, you can prepare the dough by hand.) With the mixer set on low speed, work half of the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add remaining butter cubes and ice water, and mix just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very soft, studded with butter chunks and a bit sticky - this is correct.
• You should have 550 grams/20 ounces of dough. Divide into 2 (275-gram/10-ounce) balls. Dust each with a little flour and press into a disk about 1-inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
• Dust the work surface with flour. Press one disk into a rough square, then roll it into a 6-by-12-inch sheet. Fold the sheet in half, making a 6-inch square. Dust with flour lightly, as necessary, and roll the square into a 6-by-12-inch sheet again, then fold in half to make a 6-inch square. Finally, roll dough into a 6-by-18-inch sheet, place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate, wrapped, for 30 minutes to keep dough from shrinking when baked, or freeze. (Roll out the rest of the dough at your leisure, then freeze for the future, or refrigerate and use within 2 days.)
• Make the filling: Set a wide skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When oil is wavy, add onions. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove onions and set aside.
• In the same pan over medium-high heat, add mushrooms (and a little more oil if necessary). Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and red-pepper flakes (if using), stir well and turn off heat. Combine mushrooms and onions, set aside and let cool to room temperature. (Filling can be made several hours in advance and left at room temperature, if desired.)
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using a small rubber spatula, spread crème fraîche over the pastry sheet, leaving a 1-inch border. Distribute onion-mushroom mixture evenly over the crème fraîche. Dust with Parmesan and fold pastry edges up, pinching at the corners to form a low rim. Bake until pastry is crisp and golden and top of mixture is lightly browned, about 30 to 35 minutes.
• Slide baked tart onto a cutting board and pull away the parchment. Let tart cool slightly before cutting. Sprinkle with parsley and cut tart crosswise into wide slices (or, if preferred, into wedges). Serve warm.

HEAVENLY MOREL OR MUSHROOM TARTS

Steps:

• For pastry: In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high until smooth. Add 1-1/2 cups flour and beat on low speed until combined. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.
• Meanwhile, clean mushrooms. Place morel mushrooms, if using, in a large bowl. Cover with cold tap water; add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, rinse and repeat two more times. Drain thoroughly; pat mushrooms dry with paper towels. Chop mushrooms (you should have 2 cups).
• For filling: In a large skillet, cook onion in 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat until tender. Add mushrooms. Cook and stir for 3 to 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly evaporated. Remove from heat.
• In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, 2 tablespoons flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, marjoram, and rosemary until combined. Stir sour cream mixture into mushroom mixture.
• On a floured surface, use your hands to slightly flatten the dough. Roll dough from center to edges to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough into twenty-four 3-inch circles, rerolling dough as necessary. Using small cutters, make cutouts in the centers of half of the rounds or cut a slit in half of the rounds to let the steam escape during baking.
• Place 12 of the circles, without cutouts, on an ungreased baking sheet. Place about 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of each. Moisten edges of filled pastry with a little water. Add the remaining 12 circles with cutouts or slits. Crimp edges together with a fork. Brush tops with beaten egg.
• Bake in a 350 degree F oven 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve warm.