Wild Mushroom Tart with Gruyère, Herb Salad & Balsamic Reduction

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It’s time for the monthly food fight hosted by Mel of Gourmet Fury and Leela of She Simmers. The theme ingredient this month? [drum rolls] ..Mushrooms!! My submission is this simple but sophisticated appetizer that everyone can make at home in a snap. Well, if you use store bought puff pastry that is. If in a moment of folly decide to follow Pierre Herme’s puff pastry recipe be warned that you might get lost in the butter jungle and never, ever be seen again.

This mushroom and gruyère tart will appeal to all of you mushroom amateurs out there. Puff pastry rounds, squares, rectangles or whatever shape makes you happy are topped with a mixture of fresh ricotta, thyme, gruyère, and wild mushrooms. You can pretty much use any variety of mushrooms you like, just sauteed them until tender, chewy but still a little crisp. What makes this mushroom tart different from the others is the layer of ricotta and gruyère at the bottom that turns into oozy-cheesy goodness when baked. Everybody knows that bubbly cheese is mushroom’s best friend. The little herb salad and the balsamic reduction respectively refresh and accentuate those earthy flavors which round things up quite nicely. So here you go, Mel & Leela. My submission to this month’s Beet & Squash You!

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I will keep this post short and sweet today, people. I’m under pressure. On the program this week is a fancy dinner party for 20, a cocktail party for 50, plus the usual rodeo of business lunches and small dinners. I’m also supposed to be planning for next week’s trip to Aspen, order and ship extra equipment, hard to find supplies, menus… etc.

If you haven’t already done so don’t forget to enter the Flat Turtle cookie giveaway. You have until sunday at midnight. And stay tuned for more delicious recipes.

Enjoy!

  • Wild Mushrooms Tart with Gruyère, Herb Salad & Balsamic Reduction

    wild-mushroom-tart-1

  • serves 8
    • Wild mushroom tart with gruyère:
    • 1 sheet frozen all-butter puff pastry
    • 2 large egg yolks
    • 1 1/2 pounds wild mushrooms, cleaned
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 clove garlic, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
    • 3/4 cup fresh ricotta
    • 2 tablespoons creme fraiche
    • 1/2 pound Gruyère, sliced
    • 1 bunch scallions, chopped
    • salt and pepper, to taste
    • To serve:
    • Mixed herbs (parsley, tarragon, chervil & chives), cleaned
    • Balsamic glaze or aged-balsamic
    • For the wild mushroom tart:
    • Preheat the oven to 400’F.
    • Roll the puff pastry to 1/8 inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out shapes or make a large rectangular tart. Place on a baking tray. Prick the dough with a fork. Mix an egg yolk  with 1 teaspoon water and brush the edges using a pastry brush. Return to the freezer until ready to use.
    • Tear the mushrooms into pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan and add the mushrooms (you can do this in batches). Add the garlic, scallions and half the thyme and sautee until the mushrooms are tender and a little crispy. Season with salt and pepper. Reserve.
    • Mix the ricotta and the creme fraiche with the egg yolk. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Spread the ricotta mixture on the puff pastry leaving a half an inch border. Arrange slices of gruyère on top and then the mushrooms.
    • Bake for 25 minutes. Or until bubbly in the center with a golden crust around the edges.
    • To serve:
    • Mix the herbs in a small bowl and toss with a squeeze of lemon and a touch of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
    • Cut the tart into pieces (if you’re making a large one). Drizzle the balsamic reduction on the plate, place the wild mushroom tarts with gruyere on top and finish with the little herb salad.
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  • http://www.cococooks.blogspot.com Courtney aka glamah

    Love mushroom and puff pastry. Amazing elegant combination. as usual.

  • http://www.friedwontonsforyou.com Shao

    This looks great. From your instruction it sounds like it’s something that’s very easy to make. Will this work with phyllo dough as well?

  • http://manggy.blogspot.com Manggy

    Do you need a very cheap assistant for the party? 😉 I have nothing else to do, lol. Wait till you hear my latest NY escapade – I was chasing closing times and was not able to eat breakfast till 5PM! (Ended up in Chinatown, with 5 dumplings for $1.)

    Ahem. Anyway, balsamic + mushrooms is magic. Well, at least I thought it was in my hands, till I saw your tart :) I love the unique pattern of the reduction too.

  • http://vanillamanda.blogspot.com/ Amanda

    This is really gorgeous, I am going to try it for my non-Superbowl party this weekend!

  • http://myboyfriendcooksforme.blogspot.com my boyfriend cooks for me

    I am such a sucker for anything called a “tart” since the name implies puff pastry and cheese…this looks divine…

  • http://www.justgetfloury.com Ginny

    sigh! I’ve been on such a wild mushroom kick lately… yum, yum, yum!

  • http://detroiteats.wordpress.com/ Ed Schenk@ Detroit Eats

    Great combination! Warm cheese and pastry against tart greens.

  • http://culinarytypes.blogspot.com T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types

    Ah – pretty as a picture, and quite simple if you use the frozen puff pastry!

  • http://mykitchentreasures.blogspot.com/ Happy Cook

    I am so so bookmarking this. Looks so beautiful and dlecious.

  • http://www.myfavoriteflavours.com Steve

    Clipped and added for a perfect dinner party starter. Thanks.
    Steve
    http://www.myfavoriteflavours.com

  • http://www.noobcook.com noobcook

    You turn mushrooms into something elegant & sophisticated =)

  • http://dodol-mochi.blogspot.com/ Pei-Lin

    The tart looks so flaky with the savory topping! (I thought you made the pastry from scratch, too!)

    Anyway, have fun but remember not to overwork yourself! Take care!

  • http://vanillakitchen.blogspot.com dawn

    I adore anything with a hint of balsamic. I need to print this and give a whirl. Can you share those hard-to-find website locations for food items? I am always in search of the unusual utensils.

  • http://joylicious.net Joy

    Wow this is beautiful, I love love love mushrooms and with Gruyere? Even better! I would trade you a song of your choice on the piano for one of these tarts :)

  • http://www.dlz-coc.de/wordpress Claus

    Wow, das sieht wunderbar aus, werde ich ausprobieren!

  • http://ouichef.typepad.com Oui, Chef

    This one REALLY has me wanting to lick my screen….just beautiful!

  • http://www.tasteslikehome.org Cynthia

    I love being wowed by you.

  • http://www.recipetaster.blogspot.com Alessio

    YumYum Chef! These tarts look scrumptious! Do you believe me id I tell you that I had mushrooms only with Parmiggiano so far? eheh but, rethinking at it, I might couple them with all the cheeses lol Nice crisp and fresh pics too!
    Good luck with your dinners and enjoy Aspen (a bit at least) 😉

  • http://www.bitemekitchen.blogspot.com Rose

    SERIOUSLY?! Gorgeous! I love your plating – it’s simple, elegant and showcases the food so perfectly. Ack! Thanks for continuing to be a source of inspiration. That sounds delicious.

  • http://www.gourmetfury.com Melody Fury

    Beautiful, S :) Not sure what lens you’re using but the green really pops. You’re such a star <3

  • http://en.petitchef.com vincent

    Hello,

    We bumped into your blog and we really liked it – great recipes YUM YUM.
    We would like to add it to the Petitchef.com.

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  • http://baconandrhubarb.blogspot.com Rachel (S[d]OC)

    Although I’m not sure if I’ll ever make my own puff pastry, I sort of like the idea of being lost in a butter jungle.

    This looks so really super delicious.

  • http://www.kalofagas.ca Peter

    The greens here are a must…cut down balance the richness of the mushrooms.

    Nothing you do is simple, that’s a good thing!

  • http://www.my-easy-cooking.com nina

    Awesome for someone with not much time on their hands…..beautiful!!!

  • http://itsnotyouitsbrie.com Its Not You, it’s Brie

    Butter jungles are some of my favorite places to visit. And two cheeses? You did mushrooms right.

  • http://aapplemint.com Kate/Kajal

    I’m a sucker for anything puff pastry . Absolutely love this tart and what a beautiful presentation !

  • http://www.r4i.co.uk/ dsi r4

    Delicious! Love this recipe post. So glad to have found this recipe. Thanks!!

  • http://kokken69.blogspot.com shirley@kokken69

    Thank you, thank you for this recipe. This looks so pristine. My vegetarian sister who often frowns at my excess use of refined flour and refined sugar will definitely approve of this… :)

  • http://www.TheLetMeEatCake.blogspot.com Nastassia @LetMeEatCake

    What a great tart! I have puff pastry in the fridge and I can’t wait to try this. I love the combination of gruyere and fresh ricotta yum! Still working on my submission I’m a slacker =)

  • http://detroiteats.wordpress.com/ Ed Schenk

    Looks delicious. I’m saving this one until morel season!

  • http://www.melaskitchen.blogspot.com Mélanie

    La présentation est superbe, comme d’habitude! Je ne sais jamais comment présenter les plats salés… Je vais revoir toutes tes archives, histoire de m’inspirer un peu avant mon CAP blanc (mardi soir!!)

  • http://devourtheworld.blogspot.com jen

    puff pastry, mushrooms & gruyere. brilliant. Just brilliant.

  • http://colloquialcooking.com Colloquial Cook

    -M’sieur, m’sieur!
    -Oui petit fenouil?
    -Mais j’aime pas l’fromaaaage.
    – Et bah tant pis ça en fera plus pour nous. Hop.

  • Nadia

    Cool Recipe

    Me

  • http://www.buykamagra.com kamagra

    Thank you, thank you for this recipe. This looks so pristine. My vegetarian sister who often frowns at my excess use of refined flour and refined sugar will definitely approve of this…

  • haumea

    Oooooh I want to make this next time the family is in from Monterey. This one looks divine.

  • AB

    Hello,
    Looks really yummy! :) Can I make this without adding any egg to the mushrooms. I am not a big fan of ‘eggy’ stuff, but don’t mind it in the puff pastry.

    Thanks!

  • http://www.videopokersource.com/ video poker games

    Only good ingredients, mushroom, gruyere and balsamic. Can only be tasty, I’m gonna try for sure!
    Thanks for the post :)

  • Parasite

    I tried your recipe for a potluck and it was so easy to make and was a hit. My problem was that I didn’t know how much one sheet of puff pastry was so I had leftover toppings because I didn’t thaw enough puff pastry and I wasn’t good at judging how much salt and pepper. Other than weakness of my ow cooking ability, I really enjoyed this dish and will make it again.

  • Dress and Dish

    This is a serious piece of art! Looks fantastic and I bet it taste great! Yum.

    http://www.dressanddish.com

  • Corinne

    I just made this for a holiday party, and it was really delicious. Honestly! I followed the recipe almost exactly as written, and I had rave reviews from everyone there…and this isn’t an easy crowd to please! I only made half of the mushrooms, as a previous reviewer said they ended up with extra, but the same amount of everything else. I think some more shroomies wouldn’t have been a bad thing, but it was still enough. I just bought a bag of herb salad mix and chopped it to put on top, and drizzled a few drops of bals vin on top to make it tasty, as plating it didn’t make sense for an hors d’oeuvres party. I was worried the ricotta/creme fraiche mix might make the pastry soggy, but had no problems. Thank you for the awesome recipe! It’s definitely getting filed away.

  • zenchef

    Thanks, Corinne. Glad you enjoyed it.