Mushroom Pâté en Croûte is a modern British recipe (based on a French original) for a classic starter of whole ceps (penny buns) surrounded with mushroom pâté and baked in a puff pastry crust. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Mushroom Pâté en Croûte.
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Ingredients:
150g of Cèpes (ceps)
250g of Champignon de Paris (cultivated mushrooms), stemmed and sliced in half (or use button wild Agaricus species)
1 small Shallot, peeled and finely chopped
Handful of Spinach, washed
1 tbsp cooked Rice (about)
Parmesan Cheese, finely grated, to taste
Parsley, shredded, to taste
1 Egg
Puff Pastry
freshly-ground Black Pepper, to taste
oil for frying
Method:
For this recipe you will need an oven-proof (ceramic or metal) terrine or loaf tin for baking the pie.
Clean the ceps with a dry cloth then trim the stems so that they will fit, standing up, inside (reserve the trimmings) then set aside.
Place a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add a generous glug of oil and when hot use to fry the halved mushrooms and the cap trimmings along with the shallot for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked and the shallot is soft and nicely glazed.
Turn into a bowl and allow to cool until it can be handled then chop the fried mushrooms. Also finely shred the spinach.
Add the egg to a large bowl and whisk. Add the cooked mushrooms to the bowl with the egg then season to taste with freshly-ground black pepper, chopped parsley and finely grated Parmesan Cheese. Stir in some spinach, just to have some extra colour, along with the cooked rice. The rice will help absorb additional juices from the ceps, so how much rice you need is a matter of looking at the mixture and the ceps.
Now it’s time to construct the pâté: start by creating a base with the mushroom and spinach mixture. Spread it evenly over the base of your terrine dish. Add the prepared ceps, standing them up on the base. Now pack more of the mushroom and spinach mixture around the ceps, trying your best to fill any voids and making sure the mixture envelops the mushrooms.
Spread the last of the mushrooms mixture over the ceps, trying to fill in your terrine dish. Lightly roll the puff pastry then use to from a lid, fully enclosing the mushrooms. Cut two round holes in the pastry lid and use baking paper to create two chimneys. Transfer to and oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for 45 minutes.
Use the remainder of the puff pastry to make 4 mini rounds that will function as lid on the chimney (of course, you only need 2, but baking 4 allows you to choose the best). After 45 minutes add the 4 pastry round, bake for another 10 minutes.
Mix some egg yolk with 1 tbsp water or milk and brush over the pastry and the pastry round. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. The duration and temperatures very much depend on the shape of the mould and the pastry.
Remove from the oven, take out the chimneys, glue the pastry lids onto the holes using some egg yolk and let cool.
Once cool, remove from the mould, transfer to the refrigerator and allow to chill over night before slicing and serving.
