Mini Mushroom Tarte Tatin with Blue Cheese Sauce
Photo by Mark Weinberg
MAKES
Four 5 inch / 13 cm individual pies
TAKES
Prep time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total: 4 hours 30 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
These individual pies make an incredible vegetarian meal, particularly when doused in chive-flecked creamy blue cheese sauce. Pre-cooking the mushrooms is necessary to release some of the moisture, allowing the finished mushroom to be crisp on the outside, and completely tender inside. This keeps the pastry crust crispy, too! Serve alongside a big salad for a perfect lunch or dinner.
INGREDIENTS
Tarte Tatin
½ recipe (300 g / 11 ounces) Rough Puff Pastry, prepared and well-chilled
28 g / 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
about 454 g / 4 large portobello mushroom caps (preferably that fit snugly into 5 inch / 13 cm wide pans)
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
30 g / 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided
4 g / 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, divided
4 g / 4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme, divided
Blue Cheese Sauce
77 g / ⅓ cup heavy cream
5 g / 1 clove garlic, minced
170 g / 6 ounces high-quality blue cheese, crumbled
25 g / ½ cup minced fresh chives
kosher salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
I Really Love Pie - Here’s Why:
METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F / 205°C, with rack in the lower third of the oven. Have ready four individual heat-safe baking dishes, about 5 inch / 13 cm wide (preferably small cast-iron skillets). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to ¼ inch / 3 mm thick. Dock the pastry all over with a fork, then cut out four 5 inch / 13 cm wide rounds. Use the rolling pin to gently transfer the pastry and unfurl it onto the prepared baking sheet (use an additional piece of parchment to separate/stack the pieces, if necessary). Chill the pastry while you work on the mushrooms.
3. Working with one baking dish at a time, melt 14 g / 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Place 1 mushroom cap, rounded side down, in the pan. Cook, undisturbed, until the mushroom has started to brown and soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Gently flip the mushroom cap and cook for 2 minutes more, then gently flip it back. Season the mushroom with salt and pepper.
4. Add 7 g / ½ tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until reduced slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 g / 1 teaspoon each of the rosemary and thyme to the pan and shake the pan back and forth a bit to distribute them. Set this pan on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pans, butter, mushrooms, vinegar, and herbs.
5. When all the pans are complete, transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast for 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft.
6. Remove the baking sheet from the oven (if for some reason there’s an excess of moisture, gently drain and discard it). Gently drape one piece of pastry over each mushroom, folding it in a little at the edges to encase the mushroom.
7. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the pastry is very golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
8. While the pies bake, make the sauce: In a small pot, bring the cream and garlic to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the blue cheese and stir over low heat until the cheese is fully melted. Stir in the chives and season with salt and generously with pepper. Remove from the heat and cover.
9. Invert each pan onto a plate to unmold each tarte tatin. Serve immediately with the blue cheese sauce.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
