Mushroom a la Creme

Remember the rough puff pastry we made…. Well, we filled it with mushroom a la creme, recipe courtesy of Darina Allen from her book “Ballymaloe Cookery Course” (we adapted a little).

According to Darina, the recipe is for filling “vol au vents, bouchees or pancakes” (‘can only pronounce ‘pancake’, lol). She said this can also be served as a vegetable dish, or as an enrichment for casseroles and stews. And by adding a little more creme or stock, it may also be served as a sauce to complement meat dishes.

Ingredients:
15-30g butter (I just estimated a big dollop)
1 clove of garlic (optional–I didn’t add this)
75g onion (I julienned v. thinly instead of cutting into small bits)
225g mushrooms (sliced)
salt and pepper to taste
squeeze of lemon juice
125ml creme (I used double creme)
freshly chopped parsley (‘didn’t have this)
1/2 tbsp freshly chopped chives (optional)

Procedure:
1. Saute the onions in butter. Stir and cover. Wait until the onions wilt.
2. Put the stove on high heat and add the mushrooms. Stir. You can cover the skillet and lower the heat, but when the mushrooms are cooked, uncover again and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated.
3. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
4. Add creme, once it bubbles add parsley and chives, and turn off the stove.

Use as filling for your prepared pastry. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 180C for 20mins (I have a fan oven), then brown by transfering the tray to the top shelf and switching on the grill–keep an eye on it!