Hurray! The mushroom season has started! Last Friday we bought beautiful golden chanterelles (girolles) and white beech mushrooms (shimeji). It’s the time of year to enjoy wonderful dishes such as Cèpes à la Bordelaise or Salad with Mushrooms and Smoked Duck. Will there be bay boletes this year? Or the intriguing Japanese Matsutake? It’s been some time since we last saw these on the market, and we would really love to make Matsutake with Spinach and Ginger again.
We decided to celebrate the start of the season by making an easy Mushroom Pie, packed with rich flavours, nuttiness and a touch of autumn.

Wine Pairing

We treated ourselves to a bottle of Pinot Noir from the Elzas region, made by Sophie Schaal. She produces wine in France and South Africa. The grapes are handpicked and then naturally fermented before ageing in French oak barrels for 10 months. The result is a wine with a deep ruby colour. The aromas suggest black fruit and a touch of vanilla. The taste is well balanced with soft tannins and length.
In general, you’re looking for a wine with red fruit and refined tannins. Some earthiness will match very well with the mushrooms and the taleggio.

What You Need

• For the Pastry
  • 100 grams of Flour
  • 50 grams of Water
  • 10 grams of Olive Oil
  • 1 gram of Salt
• For the Filling
  • 250 grams of firm Mushrooms (shiitake, golden chanterelles, beech mushrooms, button mushrooms)
  • 1 Organic Egg
  • 50 grams of Taleggio
  • 50 ml Double Cream
  • Thyme
  • 1 small Garlic Clove
  • Black Pepper
  • Olive Oil
  • 2 slices of Bacon (optional)

What You Do

1. Combine flour, salt, water and olive oil
2. Kneed for a minute and store in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
3. Clean the mushrooms and slice if necessary
4. (Optional) Fry the bacon, let dry on kitchen paper and crumble. Add to the egg mixture (step 11)
5. Lightly fry the mushrooms in a heavy iron skillet
6. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate and let cool
7. After 30 minutes: preheat the oven to 180 ˚ C or 355 ˚ F
8. Combine the egg with the cream
9. Add lots of thyme and black pepper
10. Add grated garlic
11. Add the mushrooms
12. Slice small cubes of taleggio
13. Add the cheese to the mixture
14. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface.
15. Coat a 22 cm or 9-inch round baking tin with oil or butter
16. Place the dough in the baking tin
17. Add the mixture and distribute evenly
18. Transfer to the oven for 35-40 minutes or until nice and golden
19. Allow to cool for a few minutes
20. Remove from the tin and let cool on a wire rack
21. Serve lukewarm

PS

It tastes even better the next day!