I am much more of a cook than a baker, but I absolutely love savory baked items like a wild mushroom tart, so I am motivated to keep working at my skills.
As you probably already know, cooking is a much more forgiving art than baking. Baking, well it requires precision, solid recipes, and clear instructions.
So to mitigate any potential DIY disasters, I’ve referred to the professionals from Tartine cookbook. With its timeless collection of classics, I figured we cannot go wrong with this wild mushroom tart.
Inspired by Tartine Bakery
Let me tell you about Tartine for a moment.The couple met at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York, then went on to train in France at old world bakeries, and beyond.
Robertson continues to travel the world to learn how he can improve his bread even further. These days, according to Bon Appétit, he is focused on figuring out how to bring an “artisanal industrial bread” to the mass market.
The Rustic Bakery
For those of you who are still wondering why I am continuing to praise Tartine, maybe I can help you envision it.It’s one of those places where simple ingredients come together perfectly, where butter, milk, flour, salt, minimal unrefined sugar, fruit, and a bit of savory, magically transform into sublime eats, and you wonder how they did it.
It is a place where traditional breads are leavened with airborne yeast and sourdough starter—there’s no commercial yeast in sight—and the resultant breads are dark and crusty. Shapes are round, long, and oblong, with cuts across their tops. It is the kind of bread you savor with good, cold butter.
I hope your city has a bakery where things look rustic and beautiful. I'd love to hear about your favorites in the comments, and what you love about yours.
It is unfortunate, but bakeries like this are few and far between. Perhaps this contributes to the enjoyment of eating when you finally get to one. They say rarity makes it precious.
My view is, if I am going to indulge in sweets, or any rich baked foods, it ought to be pure and good. The wait makes the experience all the more special.
Mushroom Tart
This wild mushroom tart brings the beautiful bakery experience to your home.Aside from its simple, buttery pastry, you have mushrooms and shallots cooked in butter, salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice, nutmeg, fresh thyme, egg yolks, and crème fraîche or heavy cream.
To me this is a beautiful ingredient list. Everything flows together so well. Everything smells so good when it’s cooking.
Be sure to get this tart seasoned just right. When you do, it tastes like the beautiful harmonious section of a classical symphony. It is also perfect for a vegetarian main on a festive occasion such as Thanksgiving, or the holiday season.
Tartine’s Wild Mushroom Tart
Prep Time: 30 minutesCook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 6 Slices
Calories: 245 KCAL
Author: Andrea at Buttered Veg
- 9-inch pie pan
- One blind baked and cooled 9-inch savory tart shell, (see notes)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup shallots, halved and thinly sliced
- 1 pound assorted fresh mushrooms, see notes
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream, see notes
- 3 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, coarsely minced, for garnish
- Blind bake your pie crust, or make one from scratch. (See recipe notes for details.)
- Prepare the mushrooms by removing any stems you do not want to use, and slice or halve them. I like the pieces to be no more than a ½-inch thickness.
- Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan (enameled cast iron if you have it), over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sauté until they just start to brown. Add the prepared mushrooms, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the mushrooms are soft and starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice and water and use it to remove any caramelization (a.k.a. flavor) from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and set aside until needed.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, egg yolks, and nutmeg until smooth. Add the mushrooms and stir to combine. Turn the mixture into the partially baked tart shell.
- Bake until the tart custard is barely firm to touch in the center. Although Tartine says it cooks in 20 minutes, it took 45 minutes to reach this stage in my oven. Remove from oven and allow to cool. The custard continues to set as it cools.
- Serve warm, or at room temperature, sprinkled with fresh thyme. Use a serrated knife to cut into pieces. Enjoy for lunch or dinner with a fresh green salad garnished with roasted beets, apples, goat cheese, and something like a red wine vinaigrette.
If you want more mushroom flavor, and you don’t mind spending a little more, you could add some porcini, morel, or chanterelles. I would not recommend shiitake, as their flavor would be overpowering in this dish. Shiitakes are better for Asian cuisine. It is also a good idea to buy organic mushrooms if possible, because the fungi tend to soak up whatever they are grown in.
Crème fraîche substitutions: Crème fraîche is a soured cream containing as much as 45 percent butterfat, with a pH of around 4.5. It is soured with a bacterial culture similar to sour cream, but it is comparatively sweeter, thinner, and higher in fat. I used a high quality sour cream in this recipe and it worked well.
You can purchase crème fraîche at most grocery stores.
Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 221mg | Potassium: 276mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 945IU | Vitamin C: 3.1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 0.8mg
