Tag: pilzen

Easy Mushroom Pie

22 January 2026

Thyme, oregano, nutty mushrooms and Parmesan cheese: a delicious combination at the heart of this easy mushroom pie. We used ready-made puff pastry, so making the filling is all you need to do.

Oregano (Origanum Vulgare) is typical for the Mediterranean cuisine. The leaves have an intense, earthy, slightly bitter taste. Use it when making tomato sauce, grilled vegetables or a lamb stew. Dried oregano is nearly as tasty as fresh oregano. When buying fresh oregano, make sure you’re not buying marjoram (Origanum Majorana) because its flavour is less intense and a bit sweet. To add to the confusion: oregano is also called wild marjoram whereas marjoram is called sweet marjoram.

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed our easy mushroom pie with a glass of Bardolino, made by Monte del Frà from Italy. The grapes used are Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. It is a well-balanced, vibrant ruby red wine with lots of fruit and a hint of spices. Medium acidity. In general, you’re looking for a refreshing red wine with lots of fruit that should be served slightly chilled.

What You Need
  • 200 grams of firm Mushrooms, we used small Eryngii
  • 50 grams of Pancetta
  • 3 Eggs
  • 50 grams of Crème Fraîche
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Thyme
  • Oregano
  • Shallot
  • 2 cloves of Garlic
  • Puff Pastry
  • Olive Oil
What You Do
  1. Warm a skillet
  2. Chop the shallot, the garlic and the oregano
  3. Clean the mushrooms and slice in two if so required
  4. Add some olive oil to the pan
  5. Add slices of pancetta
  6. Fry until crispy
  7. Transfer to a plate with kitchen paper
  8. Add the shallot to the pan and fry on low heat
  9. After a few minutes add the mushrooms and fry over medium heat
  10. After a few minutes add the garlic
  11. Reduce heat
  12. When all nicely done, add the thyme and the chopped oregano
  13. Set aside and let cool
  14. Preheat your oven to 180 °C or 355 °F
  15. Whisk the three eggs
  16. Add crème fraiche
  17. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and black pepper
  18. Cut or crumble the pancetta and add to the mushroom mixture
  19. Add the mushroom mixture to the egg mixture, combine
  20. Coat a 19 cm or 7.5-inch round baking tin with thin puff pastry
  21. Add the mixture and distribute evenly
  22. Transfer to the oven for 20-25 minutes or until nice and golden
  23. Allow to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes
  24. Remove from the tin as soon as possible
  25. If the bottom is not done, then transfer back to the oven (without the tin) for 10 minutes and set your oven to 160 °C or 320 °F, lower heat only
  26. Let cool and enjoy at 65 °C or 150 °F
PS

Skip the pancetta for a vegetarian version of this easy mushroom pie. Add extra thyme, oregano and Parmesan cheese.

Easy Mushroom Pie ©cadwu with thyme, oregano, nutty mushrooms and Parmesan cheese. The vegetarian version is as tasty as this one.
Easy Mushroom Pie ©cadwu

History on Our Plate

26 September 2022

A few years ago, we had the pleasure of attending a lecture by food historian and award winning author Peter G. Rose. She talked about America’s Dutch past and the influence of the Dutch settlers on today’s American food. She explained how the founders of New Netherland (currently the states of New York, Delaware, Connecticut and New Jersey) brought Dutch recipes, tools, herbs and fruit to the US. And she showed how the Dutch influence is still present in today’s food in the USA.

Recipes

In her book History on Our Plate (2019) she writes in more detail about this topic, also by providing various food and drink recipes from New Netherland (1609 – 1664). The recipes are based on publications like Een Notabel Boecxken van Cokeryen (a Notable Little Book of Cookery, 1514) and the 13th century publication Le Viandier de Taillevent. The recipes include both the original and a modern version, allowing you to recreate food from the 17th century. Fried cod with mace, waffles, mushroom fricassee, artichokes with a bread, cinnamon and wine sauce: they all sound amazing.

In her introduction she describes the joy of baking bread in a hearth, the fun (and challenges) of preparing food in her home fireplace and the candlelight dinners that follow. When reading the well written recipes, you sense that she (and her husband who is in charge of the fire) aims to let her readers enjoy the cooking and eating as much as they did.

Quiche or Clafoutis?

We were intrigued by a recipe for Mushroom Quiche without a Crust. It made us think of clafoutis. Replace the cherries by mushrooms, change the seasoning and you have a delicious vegetarian starter or main course. The recipe was first published in 1668 by Franciscus van Sterbeeck  in his book Tractaet van de Kampernoeljes, Genaamd Duivelsbrood (or Treatise of Mushrooms, named Devils’s Bread).
You’ll find a detailed recipe in History on Our Plate.

We enjoyed our Mushroom Quiche without a Crust (or should we say, Flaugnarde with Mushrooms?) with a glass of Rioja d’Oliva Gran Reserva, Altos d’Oliva, 2013. A full bodied, red wine with lots of character that worked really well with the mushrooms, the oregano, and the Gouda cheese.

Buy the Book!

History on Our Plate is available via the well-known channels and your local bookstore for approximately 15 euro or 10 US$.

History on Our Plate
Mushroom Flaugnarde ©cadwu
Mushroom Flaugnarde on Plate ©cadwu