Mushroom Tart

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This lovely mushroom tart cleverly uses pizza dough instead of pastry for its base. Feel free to experiment with your mushroom selection – use any seasonal variety you might find at your farmers’ market.

Ingredients

butter, for the tin

15g/½oz dried porcini mushrooms

1 large red onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 tsp thyme, chopped, plus extra whole sprigs to decorate

2 garlic cloves, chopped

150g pack button mushrooms, large ones halved

200g/7oz field mushrooms, sliced

175ml/6fl oz single cream

1 egg, beaten

FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH BASE

225g/8oz strong flour, plus extra for dusting

1 tsp dried yeast

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1 egg

Method

butter and line a 20 x 30cm fluted tart tin. Put the porcini mushrooms in a bowl with warm water and leave to soak for 20 mins. Drain, chop and set aside.
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Put the onion, oil and 2 tbsp water in a frying pan and cook over a low heat for about 10 mins, or until the onion is soft and all of the water has evaporated. remove from the heat and stir in 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, the thyme, garlic and porcini mushrooms. Mix well and set aside.
Put the button and field mushrooms in a roasting tin, drizzle with oil and cover with foil. roast in the oven for 10 mins, then allow to cool for 10 mins. Drain any excess juice from the mushrooms, then stir them into the onion mixture. reduce oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.
To make the dough base, mix the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil, egg and 80ml lukewarm water. Draw everything together with your hands until you get a soft dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few mins – the dough should be soft but not sticky. If it is sticky, add a little flour and knead again. roll out the dough with a rolling pin until 3mm thick. Line the tart tin with the dough but do not trim the edges yet. Set aside.
Mix together the cream and egg, then pour half into the tart shell. Spread the mixed vegetables over the tart, then pour in the remaining cream mixture. Now trim the excess pizza dough neatly around the edges. bake for 35-40 mins. remove from the oven and leave to cool, then decorate with a few thyme sprigs. Serve warm or cold.

Barbara Northwood

Barbara has over 38 years experience in the food industry, loves sharing advice, recipes and know-how on everything food. She’s a passionate gardener and being to grow fresh herbs, lemons and rhubarb and more, gives her great satisfaction.