Mushroom Macadamia Tart Recipe

A simple mushroom, shallots, ground macadamias, and egg custard is baked as a shallow tart and finished with macadamia nuts. The instructions may appear long and daunting, but they are merely highly descriptive. This is quite easy to make using pre-made pie crusts. However, do feel free to use your own pie crust recipe, if you wish. It may be served hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 refrigerated ready-made crusts
• 2 Tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 2 Tablespoons chopped shallot
• 6 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped fine
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1-1/4 cups (about 6-1/2 ounces) salted roasted macadamia nuts, ground fine in a food processor
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 12 to 15 salted roasted macadamia nuts
• 1 large egg, beaten with a pinch of salt, for glaze

Preparation:

Prepare dough and refrigerate.

To make filling, melt butter in a deep skillet, add shallots, and saute over low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until mixture is dry. Transfer to a bowl; let cool to room temperature.

Whisk cream with egg and yolks until blended. Add mushroom mixture and parsley, and mix well. Gently stir in ground macadamia nuts. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Butter an 8-inch round fluted tart pan with a removable rim. Let crust dough soften 1 minute before rolling it. Roll about two-thirds of dough on a lightly floured surface to a round about 1/8-inch thick and about 10 inches in diameter. Roll dough loosely around rolling pin and unroll it over tart pan. Gently ease dough into pan. Using your thumb, push dough down slightly at top edge of pan, making top edge of dough thicker than remaining dough. Roll rolling pin across pan to cut off excess dough. With your finger and thumb, press dough gently against pan so that it rises 1/4 inch above the rim. Prick bottom of shell lightly with a fork. Refrigerate shell for 30 minutes.

Roll remaining dough to a thin sheet and cut in strips about 3/8 inch wide and 8-1/2 inches long. Refrigerate strips side by side on a lightly floured plate. If they become stiff, let them soften about 5 minutes at room temperature before using them.

Put a baking sheet in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Spoon cool filling into tart shell. Brush rim of shell lightly with egg glaze. Arrange 4 pastry strips parallel to each other at equal intervals above filling. Press to stick ends of each strip to glazed rim. Arrange 4 more parallel strips crossing first group of strips in a diamond pattern. Stick these strips to rim. Remove excess dough by pressing edges of strips against rim of pan. Set tart carefully on hot baking sheet and bake it for 10 minutes.

Pull out oven shelf, leaving tart on baking sheet in oven. Set macadamia nuts on filling between pastry strips; brush nuts and strips quickly with egg glaze. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F. and bake tart for 25 minutes, or until pastry browns and filling sets. Transfer tart to a rack and let it cool for 10 minutes. Remove sides of pan. (Tart can be kept, covered, overnight in refrigerator.) Serve it hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Yield: 8 appetizer or 6 main-course servings

Recipe Source: Faye Levy's International Vegetable Cookbook by Faye Levy (Warner Books)
Reprinted with permission.