SAVORY STARTERS

i was inspired by keiko at nordljus to get the book starters, first courses easily turned into main dishes, by shane osborn. and it was a great buy. everything i make from this cookbook is excellent. thanks keiko! my latest experiment was the caramelized onion and mushroom tart. i didn’t have all of the ingredients so i made some variations, but it was still tasty. the savory mushrooms with chives paired nicely with the sweet caramelized onions. the puff pastry was not homemade but the italian brand buitoni makes a great time saving puff pastry that tastes just like the real thing! here’s the recipe, copied and adapted to the supplies i had in my kitchen!:




shane osborn caramelized onion and mushroom tart

serves 4:

shallot stock:
i didn’t have shallots or stock so i skipped this part

caramelized onions:
50g unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper

tart bases (i made one whole tart instead of 4 small ones):
250g ready-made puff pastry
2 tsp thyme leaves
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water

mushroom topping:
400g mixed mushrooms (button, chanterelle, shiitake, oyster) cleaned
65g unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tbsp double cream
1-2 tarragon sprigs (i used thyme and chives)
squeeze of lemon juice, to taste

method:
caramelized onions - melt the butter with the garlic in a heavy based frying pan, then add the onions with a pinch of salt. cook over very low heat until the onions are softened and caramelized; about 45 minutes to one hour. season and discard the garlic. let cool.

for the tart base - preheat oven to 220C. roll out and place the pastry in your baking tray with parchment paper. prick the dough evenly with a fork. spread the caramelized onions out evenly on top of the dough. sprinkle with thyme. brush the border of the pasty with the egg wash. bake for 12- 16 minutes until the crust is evenly golden. remove from oven and let cool.

mushroom topping - halve or slice the mushrooms. heat 50g butterin frying pan until foaming. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden. season with salt and pepper. (add the stock but i eliminated this step since i didn’t have stock). add the cream and stir in remaining butter. stir in lemon juice, check for seasoning and discard garlic.

to assemble - place the warm tart base on a warm plate. spoon the mushrooms on top. garnish with tarragon and serve. i used thyme and chives instead of tarragon and i added thinly sliced pieces of a soft pecorino cheese as well.