Last summer, friends in the neighborhood got together and brought appetizers and wine to Pat's house. The food, as usual, was delicious. My favorite was the mushroom tarts that Marilyn brought. She shared the recipe with me--it's from a food magazine--not sure which one. I've made it several times and we have found that is works well as a main course with a salad. Now that fall season is here, a warmer kitchen feels good with stove on and I'm keen to getting back to cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts
- 10 ounces frozen all-butter puff pastry, thawed and chilled. (I prefer Pepperidge Farm)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3/4 lb medium porcini or cremini mushrooms, trimmed
- extra virgin olive oil for brushing
- snipped chives
Preheat the oven to 350º. In a pie plate, bake the walnuts for 8 minutes or until lightly browned, then let cool and coarsely chop.
Line a medium baking sheet with parchment. Unfold the puff pastry and cut out anywhere from 4-8 (seems to make more than is indicated in the recipe) 4-inch rounds, about 1/8 thick. Transfer the rounds to the prepared being sheet and prick all over with a fork. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and set a baking sheet on top. Bake the pastry for about 25 minutes or until it is cooked and browned; remove the pastry from the over.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring over moderately high heat for 4 minutes; reduce the temp to low, stir frequently, until mushrooms are soft and golden, about 50 minutes; let cool. In a food processor, coarsely puree walnuts and onions and season with salt and pepper.
In a medium saucepan of boiling water, blanche the mushrooms until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and slice 1/4 inch thick.
Heat oven to 400º. Spread the pastry rounds with the puree and arrange the mushrooms overlapping on top. Brush with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes. Garnish with chives and serve.
Make ahead 1 day: onion & mushroom puree, and pastry rounds wrapped in plastic.
