Potted Mushrooms (mushroom Paste) Recipe
Yield: 1 batchRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
1 ounce: Imported dried mushrooms,
1: Tiny pinch of ground cloves,
--, about 2/3 cup
1/2 lbs: Firm, fresh mushrooms**
2/3 cup: , Warm water
-- cultivated ones,
2 tbsp: Madeira, plus more if needed
--, weight after trimming
2 medium: Shallots, peeled and sliced
-- stems removed,
1 medium: Garlic clove,
Fresh ground black pepper or,
-- peeled and sliced,
-- to taste,
1/2 tsp: Salt, or to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp: Ground mace,
1/2: To 3/4 c. butter,
1 large: Pinch dried thyme leaves,
--, 1 to 1 1/2 sticks
Scrap of bay leaf or,
-- sliced 1/4" thick,
--, about 1/2" square
1/2 cup: Clarified butter***, approx
1 large: Pinch powdered bay leaves*,
-- for sealing,
Directions:
*See Powdered Bay Leaves recipe.
**About 3/4 lb. before trimming.
***See Clarified Butter recipe.
Soak dried mushrooms in the warm water, covered, for several hours or
overnight, until mushrooms are very soft.
Lift mushrooms from their liquid with a slotted spoon and place them
in the container of a food processor or blender; let the soaking
liquid settle for a moment, then pour it carefully into the food
processor, leaving behind any sand that may be in the bottom. Add
the Madeira, shallots, garlic, salt, mace, thyme, bay leaf and
cloves; process mixture to a puree. Scrape the puree into a bowl and
reserve it.
Preheat the oven to 300 F.
Working in batches, if necessary, chop mushroom caps very fine in the
processor or blender (no need to clean the container first). Add the
puree; blend everything together well.
Scrape the mixture into a small baking dish (a 3-cup souffle dish is
just right) and set it into a slightly larger baking dish or pan.
Cover the inner dish tightly with foil and add a metal lid or
ovenproof plate to hold it in place. Pour enough boiling water into
the outer dish to come within an inch below the rim of the inner dish.
Bake the mushroom mixture at 300 F., adding more hot water to the
outer dish as necessary and stirring mushrooms after 1 1/2 hours.
Check the mushrooms again after 2 1/2 hours; fragments should be
tender, almost jellylike. When this point is reached, uncover the
inner dish and let the mixture bake uncovered for an additional 1/2
hour. Remove the whole business from the oven and set the inner dish
on a rack to cool to lukewarm.
Taste the potted mushrooms and add pepper to taste, plus a little
more of any of the seasonings you think may be needed; the flavor
should be pronounced. Using at least 1 stick of butter or as much as
1 1/2 sticks, add the butter slices, about one-third at a time,
whisking after each addition until butter disappears. Taste the
mixture again and make any final additions to the seasonings.
Pack potted mushrooms into two or three attractive small crocks
suitable for serving; smooth the tops. Chill the paste, uncovered,
until it is firm; as it cools, it will begin to appear marbled.
Melt clarified butter and pour a layer about 1/4" thick over the
paste, being sure that the butter layer is sealed to the sides of the
containers. Cover the mushroom paste tightly and refrigerate it. It
will keep for up to three weeks in the refrigerator. Before serving,
allow potted mushrooms to soften slightly at room temperature.
Leftovers should be used within a few days.
Yield: About 2 1/2 cups.
Witty writes: "Use this buttery dark spread, pungent with the flavor
of both dried and fresh mushrooms, on canapes or in thin-cut
sandwiches, which are especially good when a few leaves of watercress
are tucked in. It is also a fine snack on crackers. Use it, too, as
the butter for substantial sandwiches of chicken or cheese, or
swirl spoonfuls into hot noodles as sauce and seasoning, or spread a
spoonful over a broiled steak.
"To achieve the most intense mushroom flavor at the most reasonable
cost, choose dried fungi labeled European mushrooms or, if you can
find them, the otherwise anonymous dried mushrooms imported from
Chile. You can also use dried mushrooms identified as boletes
(boletus mushrooms), which have marvelous flavor but carry a high
price tag. These will be found under such names as cepes, porcini,
funghi secchi porcini, and Steinpilze. Oriental dried mushrooms
(shiitake and so on) are not suitable."
From "Fancy Pantry" by Helen Witty. New York: Workman Publishing
Company, Inc., 1986. ISBN 0-89480-037-X. Pp. 39-40. Posted by
Cathy Harned. From: Cathy Harned Date: 09-25-94
Source from luhu.jp
**About 3/4 lb. before trimming.
***See Clarified Butter recipe.
Soak dried mushrooms in the warm water, covered, for several hours or
overnight, until mushrooms are very soft.
Lift mushrooms from their liquid with a slotted spoon and place them
in the container of a food processor or blender; let the soaking
liquid settle for a moment, then pour it carefully into the food
processor, leaving behind any sand that may be in the bottom. Add
the Madeira, shallots, garlic, salt, mace, thyme, bay leaf and
cloves; process mixture to a puree. Scrape the puree into a bowl and
reserve it.
Preheat the oven to 300 F.
Working in batches, if necessary, chop mushroom caps very fine in the
processor or blender (no need to clean the container first). Add the
puree; blend everything together well.
Scrape the mixture into a small baking dish (a 3-cup souffle dish is
just right) and set it into a slightly larger baking dish or pan.
Cover the inner dish tightly with foil and add a metal lid or
ovenproof plate to hold it in place. Pour enough boiling water into
the outer dish to come within an inch below the rim of the inner dish.
Bake the mushroom mixture at 300 F., adding more hot water to the
outer dish as necessary and stirring mushrooms after 1 1/2 hours.
Check the mushrooms again after 2 1/2 hours; fragments should be
tender, almost jellylike. When this point is reached, uncover the
inner dish and let the mixture bake uncovered for an additional 1/2
hour. Remove the whole business from the oven and set the inner dish
on a rack to cool to lukewarm.
Taste the potted mushrooms and add pepper to taste, plus a little
more of any of the seasonings you think may be needed; the flavor
should be pronounced. Using at least 1 stick of butter or as much as
1 1/2 sticks, add the butter slices, about one-third at a time,
whisking after each addition until butter disappears. Taste the
mixture again and make any final additions to the seasonings.
Pack potted mushrooms into two or three attractive small crocks
suitable for serving; smooth the tops. Chill the paste, uncovered,
until it is firm; as it cools, it will begin to appear marbled.
Melt clarified butter and pour a layer about 1/4" thick over the
paste, being sure that the butter layer is sealed to the sides of the
containers. Cover the mushroom paste tightly and refrigerate it. It
will keep for up to three weeks in the refrigerator. Before serving,
allow potted mushrooms to soften slightly at room temperature.
Leftovers should be used within a few days.
Yield: About 2 1/2 cups.
Witty writes: "Use this buttery dark spread, pungent with the flavor
of both dried and fresh mushrooms, on canapes or in thin-cut
sandwiches, which are especially good when a few leaves of watercress
are tucked in. It is also a fine snack on crackers. Use it, too, as
the butter for substantial sandwiches of chicken or cheese, or
swirl spoonfuls into hot noodles as sauce and seasoning, or spread a
spoonful over a broiled steak.
"To achieve the most intense mushroom flavor at the most reasonable
cost, choose dried fungi labeled European mushrooms or, if you can
find them, the otherwise anonymous dried mushrooms imported from
Chile. You can also use dried mushrooms identified as boletes
(boletus mushrooms), which have marvelous flavor but carry a high
price tag. These will be found under such names as cepes, porcini,
funghi secchi porcini, and Steinpilze. Oriental dried mushrooms
(shiitake and so on) are not suitable."
From "Fancy Pantry" by Helen Witty. New York: Workman Publishing
Company, Inc., 1986. ISBN 0-89480-037-X. Pp. 39-40. Posted by
Cathy Harned. From: Cathy Harned Date: 09-25-94
Source from luhu.jp