Creamy mushroom toast
First recipe, better make it a good one! This isn’t a historic one or a regional quirk. No, this recipe is just nice. I make this with a Genoa style focaccia but you can make this with any type of bread. This mushroom toast is a lovely lunch and if I ever open a “brasserie” it will be the first thing on the menu.
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 big slices of bread
A big handful of basil
1 escallion shallot (feel free to swap with a normal shallot or even half an onion)
1-2 cloves of garlic
50 ml of olive oil
A big spoonful (about 50 ml) of crème fraiche
400 gr of mushrooms (I use chestnut but you can use white buttons or even shiitake)
A dash of chicken stock (can be vegetable if you prefer)
Neutral oil (sunflower or groundnut are ideal)
Knob of butter
Salt and pepper
Parmesan
Rocket (optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Mise en place!(you can do this in any order)
Clean your mushrooms with a brush or even your finger (don’t use water!). If your mushrooms are really big you might want to cut them in half.
Remove the stems from the basil and blend the leaves with the olive oil. This needs to be nicely spreadable. The above measurements work for me but the viscosity of your oil and quality of your basil might be a bit different so play around with it. You’re looking for a thick, dark green liquid. If you don’t have a blender, go full traditional and mortar and pestle this!
Chop the shallot fine and mince the garlic, the finer the better.
Have a knob of butter, a dash of stock and a spoonful of crème fraiche ready, this will go rather fast when we start cooking.
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius, 160 if you have a fan oven.
Stage 2 - Let’s get cooking (the order is really important here)
Spread the basil oil on your bread and put them in the oven. The duration will depend on how thick you cut the bread so you want to keep an eye on this. I check them every 2 minutes — you’re looking for mildly crispy, not rock hard.
Heat up a pan (stainless steel is ideal) on high heat with a neutral oil and get it ripping hot. It doesn’t need to smoke but it needs to start rippling a little bit. Once the oil is really hot, throw in the mushrooms (be careful, it might splash a bit!), stir them around so they get evenly cooked and sprinkle them with some salt. As soon as they begin to colour, turn down the heat to medium high and add the shallot, garlic and the knob of butter. Season with some pepper. Give all of this another good stir. This might also be a good time to check on your bread.
If your bread is crispy, get your it out of the oven and set it aside. You can already plate them if you want.
Once the shallot has softened, deglaze the pan with a dash of chicken stock.
As soon as the stock stops sizzling, add a big spoonful of crème fraiche. This will help bind the sauce, the more you use the thicker it will get. You can turn the heat down to medium low now.
Once the sauce reaches your desired consistency, give it a taste and do add some final seasonings.
Stage 3 - Plating and finishing
Scoop the mushrooms over your toasted bread and grate some parmesan over them.
Feel free to garnish with some rocket or fresh basil.