Where’s the Salt?

Following Simonetta’s (from the Blog of San Lorenzo) recent challenge to

“Produce and send me a recipe involving any San Lorenzo product in their store, and the three most intriguing entries will receive the products mentioned in the recipe for free.”

This weekend, I decided to have a go at creating an autumnal mushroom tart, using a mix of fresh mushrooms and dried porcini mushrooms. Intriguing? I have no idea … but the resulting blend of gamey mushrooms, pine nuts, pancetta, thyme and the Irish Cashel Blue cheese went down a treat over the weekend, with adults and toddler alike.

Mushroom & Cashel Blue Tart

• 30g dried porcini
• 120g butter
• 1 onion, peeled & finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled & finely chopped
• 600g button / flat capped mushrooms, cleaned
• 30g white bread
• 50g pine nuts
• 60g pancetta, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 100mls cream
• salt & pepper
• 1 sheet ready made puff pastry (Not being much of a pastry chef, I use the frozen pastry available in all supermarkets)
• good handful thyme
• Cashel blue cheese, to cover the tart.

- Place the porcini in a bowl and cover with boiling water, leave to rehydrate for at least 30 mins, then remove from water and chop roughly. Reserve the liquid for later.

- Heat 80g of the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion & garlic and cook for 5 mins.

- Dice 500g of the fresh mushrooms and slice the rest, putting them aside to use as decoration on the top of the tart. Increase the heat and add the chopped porcini and diced mushrooms to the pan. Cook for 5 - 10 mins, till all the water has evaporated.

- Meanwhile, soak the bread in a ladleful of the porcini liquid. Combine with the mushroom mix, pine nuts, pancetta and eggs, then blitz in a food processor till smooth. If you can spare the time, cover and leave in the fridge for an hour.

- Remove and gradually add the cream. Blitz again till well blended.

- Melt the remaining butter and pour over the sliced mushrooms you set aside earlier. Season and set aside again.

- Lay your pastry sheet over a greased baking tray and score all around, about 1cm in from the edge.

- Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. Spread the mushroom mix thickly & evenly over your pastry base and arrange slices of Cashel Blue over it. Then arrange the mushroom slices on top. If the butter has cooled and hardened, you may need to heat them slightly beforehand.

- Sprinkle the thyme leaves over the sliced mushrooms before brushing with a little melted butter. Season and cook in the preheated oven for 20 - 25 mins.

Enjoy with a little fresh green salad, if you can get your hands on it - lambs lettuce is great this time of year.