Craft mixed mushroom and pistachio tartlets
For those who don’t believe it’s a meal without meat, Suzy Spoon wants a quiet word. As the woman behind Australia’s only vegetarian butcher, the Sydney foodie has been filling bellies surprisingly well with vegetarian and vegan dishes for more than two decades. Now, she shares her collection of no-fuss recipes in her new cookbook, Suzy Spoon’s Vegetarian Kitchen. Layering enoki and oyster mushrooms, these delicious tartlets can be served either hot or cold and are perfect for entertaining or between-meal snacking.
INGREDIENTS
Filling
15 Swiss brown mushrooms, quartered
150 g oyster mushrooms, halved
4 spring onions, sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 free-range eggs
80 ml milk
1 tablespoon tahini
200 g enoki mushrooms
150 g shelled, unsalted pistachios
Pastry
2 cups plain our
pinch of salt
180 g chilled butter
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon lemon juice
60 ml iced water
TO MAKE
Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Place the Swiss brown and oyster mushrooms in a large casserole dish with a lid. Mix through the spring onions, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 40 minutes until the mushrooms have softened and an amazing aroma hits you when you take off the lid. Allow the mushrooms to cool (keep the lid off).
To make the pastry, place the our, salt and butter in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the our with your ngertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sesame seeds and lemon juice. Add the iced water a few drops at a time and mix to form a rough dough (you may not need all the water).
Sprinkle a smooth, clean surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead it five or six times. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Grease six 5-cm wide, loose-based tartlet tins. Place the dough between two large sheets of greaseproof paper and roll out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 3 mm. Use a butter knife to cut out 6 circles, each 7 cm in diameter. Lay the pastry circles over the tartlet tins, easing the pastry in gently to cover the bases and sides.
Place the tins on a baking tray and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes or in the freezer for 10.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the pastry shells with greaseproof paper. Cover the paper with baking weights and bake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the paper and weights and return the shells to the oven for 5–7minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Place the egg, milk and tahini in a small bowl and whisk well. Fill the pastry shells with the baked mushrooms and top with some enoki mushrooms. Pour in about 3 tablespoons of the milk mixture and decorate with pistachios.
Bake the tartlets for 30 minutes, or until firm and golden brown.
Recipe and images from Suzy Spoon’s Vegetarian Kitchen, by Suzy Spoon. Published by Plum.
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