MUSHROOM RAGOÛT TARTS

Okay, so ragoût and tart is not really a fusion that is set to make foodie fame (unless cooked by a hatted celebrity chef on Australian MasterChef). And, I know that traditionally, a ragoût should be made of a base of either meat or fish!  But this recipe is as delicious as it is rustic, with a promise to impress any food snob. Be naughty, break a foodie rule!

Essential to this captive bite is making sure the onions are well cooked before adding the mushrooms. Drop the diet! Be extra generous with the butter and thyme! Try combining as many different varieties of mushrooms as possible. This makes the flavor more complex and hopefully more interesting for your guests. And also…don’t forget the salt!

Captive companion: Mr James, the inspiration for this recipe.

Captive location: Melbourne hipster café serving home-style spin offs

Captivating comment: “Mushrooms are sooo tasty!”

Captive drop: An Australian Pinot Noir.

Ingredients:

50-100g of butter (taste vs. waisteline, you choose)

3 onions, finely diced

5 whole garlic cloves

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3-4 sheets of short crust pastry

500g of mushrooms – shitake, oyster, inoki, wild, portabella (mix it up)

20 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed, stalks disposed.

20 shaves of Parmesan

1.     Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2.     For pasty cases, butter cupcake tins. Cut out a circle of pastry according the size of your cupcake tins. Make 10 if large and 15 is small.

3.     Blind bake for 10 minutes, remove weights, then bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

4.     Meanwhile, heat oil and butter in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook for 20 minutes or until onions are almost disintegrating.

5.     Add the densest mushrooms first, cook off and add the next variety until all are in the pan. Add thyme leaves.

6.     Cook until all mushrooms are soft (approx. 10 minutes). Remove garlic cloves

7.     Spoon mushroom mixture into tarts, making sure you give fair representation of each mushroom variety.

8.     Top with Parmesan. Serve either warm or at room temperature.

Note: Tartlets can usually be bought from high quality providore, if you don’t have the energy to muck around with pastry. This also makes a brilliant bruschetta topping. Use crusty sough dough bread.