Mushroom Almond Tart Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
• Line a 10-inch pie dish with 1 sheet of puff pastry. Trim the edge so 1 inch hangs over the rim of the dish.
• Bake in preheated oven just long enough to set the pastry, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Cut the second sheet of puff pastry into 1 inch wide strips. Place the strips on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate the strips and the baked pie shell for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions, and cook until soft and transparent, about 6 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and thyme, and cook until the mushrooms soften and release their juices, about 6 minutes. Mix the cream cheese into the mushroom mixture, stirring until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Spoon the mushroom mixture into the pie shell. Arrange the pastry strips in a lattice pattern across the filling. Fold and crimp the ends of the strips together with the pie shell edge trimming any necessary pastry to make an even edge.
• Whisk the egg yolk and milk together in a small bowl, and use to brush the top of the pie.
• Bake in preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and the filling is heated through, up to 45 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. Cool another 30 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt margarine.
• Add onion, garlic, and mushrooms.
• Saute until tender but not browned.
• Add tarragon, stir until it is softened.
• Pour mixture into a bowl of food processor.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• Process until mixture is smooth.
• Add cheese if you prefer a more spreadable consistency.
• Spoon into a serving bowl.
• Top with garnish of your choice.
• GARNISH: slivered or finely chopped almonds, fresh parsley sprigs, pimiento strips, or sweet red pepper strips, optional.
• People who do not like ordinary pate seem to love this one.
• Vary the herbs and substitute the vegetables as you wish.
• Serve with water crackers, thick slices of crusty French bread, thin slices of whole wheat bread, or unsalted whole wheat crackers.
• May be frozen.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Peel the onions and cut each into 6 wedges through the root. Heat the oil in a large pan, add onions, then gently fry for 20 mins until softened and lightly coloured.
• Add the mushrooms, sugar, salt and pepper and give it a good stir. Gently cook, stirring now and then for a further 5 mins. Stir in the walnuts. Line the base of a 20-23cm sandwich cake tin (not loose-based) with baking parchment. Spoon over the onion mixture and press it down lightly. Crumble the cheese over.
• Roll out the pastry and trim to a round, about 5cm larger than the tin. Put the pastry over the filling and tuck in the ends. Bake for 35-40 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden. Cool for 5 mins in the tin, then turn out onto a flat plate and cut into wedges. Serve with a green salad.

Steps:

• Put 175g Flora 100% Natural Ingredients, wholemeal flour, half the thyme and a pinch of salt in a food processor and pulse until it starts to clump together. Add 2-3 tbsp cold water and pulse again until it forms a ball. Wrap and chill for 20 mins.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tbsp spread in a frying pan, and fry the mushrooms and onions for 10 mins until soft and lightly golden. Season well and remove from the heat.
• Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Add a large flat baking sheet to the oven to heat up. Whisk the soft cheese with half the chives, remaining thyme and all the garlic. Season well.
• Roll the pastry out in between two sheets of parchment to a rough rectangle shape, the thickness of a £1 coin, about 30x40cm. Remove the top layer of parchment and smooth over the soft cheese mixture, leaving a 5cm border. Spoon over the mushrooms, in an even layer over the soft cheese, then fold over the 4 sides of the border to overlap the filling slightly. Trim the sides before you fold over if you need to, but will look lovely when baked either way. Glaze the pastry with egg.
• Using the parchment to help you, slide the tart onto the hot tray with the paper. Bake for 35-40 mins until the pasty is cooked though, and crisp. Scatter with the remaining chives to serve, along with a green salad.

Steps:

• Make crust: In a bowl, combine flour and salt; add butter and rub with fingertips until it resembles coarse meal.
• Add yolks and 2 tblsps ice water, or enough to form a soft, but not sticky, dough, tossing with a fork, and form into a ball.
• Knead dough lightly with heel of hand for a few seconds to distribute butter.
• Re-form into a ball and chill, wrapped, for 1 hour.
• (may be made 2 days in advance) Butter an 8 inch tart pan with a removable, fluted rim.
• Roll out 2/3s of dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly-floured surface.
• Fit it into prepared tart pan, pushing dough down slightly at top edge of pan to make the walls thicker than the bottom.
• Roll rolling pin over top of dough to cut off excess and press dough gently against pan so that it rises ¼ inch above the rim.
• Prick bottom lightly with fork and chill 30 minutes.
• Roll out remaining dough 1/8 inch thick and, with a sharp knife, cut out 8, 8 ½ X ½ inch strips.
• Chill strips on a lightly-floured baking sheet for about 30 minutes (let soften at room temperature 5 minutes before using).
• Make filling: Cook shallot in butter over moderately-low heat, stirring, until softened.
• Add mushrooms, season to taste, and cook over moderately-high heat, stirring, for 4 minutes, or until liquid is evaporated.
• Transfer to a small bowl and let cool to room temperature.
• In a bowl, whisk together cream, whole egg, egg yolks and stir in mushroom mixture, parsley, ground almonds, nutmeg, and season to taste.
• Put a baking sheet in lower third of oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• Spoon filling into shell.
• Brush rim with some egg wash.
• Arrange 4 of pastry strips parallel to one another and trim ends flush with shell, pressing them gently into shell.
• Arrange remaining 4 strips over to form a diamond pattern and repeat trimming.
• Bake tart 10 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.
• Leaving tart on baking sheet, arrange almonds between strips and brush them and strips with remaining egg wash.
• Bake 20-25 minutes more, or until pastry is golden-brown and filling is set.
• Let cool 12 minutes before removing side of pan.
• Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.