Detest Yet Respect: Recipe of the week

Hello food.....

I hate mushrooms, always have and always will (probably). However, this does not stop me wanting to have a teeny-weeny restaurant called 'Not Mushroom' courtesy of Noel Barrowclough's wonderful sense of humour. However, as much as I do not like mushrooms, I do respect them, they are the perfect replacement for meat if you are a vegetarian as they at least have a little something extra to them, they don't feel like your average carrot/spout/other generic vegetable.
The time has come anyway to create more vegetarian recipes, so this evening I have created a mushroom tart, which I detest, yet still respect.

I would say this is best served with new potatoes and salad, however really could be had by itself at lunch, or even as a snack. You could even make teeny weeny ones as canape type things!

Ingredients

• Shortcrust Pastry
• 55g Butter
• 80g Plain Flour
• 45g Parmesan Cheese
• 20ml Water
• Salt
• 200g Chesnut Mushrooms
• 100g Oyster Mushroom
• 1 Leek
• 1 White Onion
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 10ml Oliver Oil
• 10g Thyme
• 125ml White Wine
• 100ml Double Cream
• 2 Handfuls Spinach
• 50g Cheddar Cheese
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Make the pastry - Rub together butter,  flour, parmesan cheese, salt and make into a soft dough (add water slowly if needed).
2. Chill in fridge.
3. Slice mushrooms, onion, leeks and crush garlic. Place Olive Oil in frying pan/wok and heat slowly, add the veg (not spinach) and cook on medium heat with thyme, salt and pepper until everything is softened.
4. Add wine and cook until almost all the liquid has disappeared.
5. Add cream and spinach. Leave to simmer slowly for 5 minutes.
6. Meanwhile roll out pastry into 15cm discs. Place in tart molds (not on baking tray as picture shows).
7. When cream has thickened add more black pepper and spoon into pastry shells.
8. Grate cheddar cheese on each tart.
9. Place in oven at Gas Mark 6/200C for 15 minutes (until pastry browned)
10. Serve!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Let me know if you give it a go on the Jess's Messes Facebook Page, it could be generally just detest, but hopefully (even if you're not a mushroom fan) you will see the respect side too!