Brie and Mushroom Pithivier
Earthy mushrooms and oozing Brie combine for a moreish vegetarian main that will be the envy of the non veggies, while crunchy walnuts and a dash of sherry bring a touch of festive cheer to the table.
Hands-on time 30min, plus cooling and chilling. Cooking time about 1hr 30min. Serves 8
◆ 25g (1oz) butter
◆ 4 banana shallots, thinly sliced
◆ 2tbsp olive oil
◆ 900g (2lb) mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped (we used portabellini, shittake and chestnut mushrooms)
◆ 3 large garlic cloves, crushed
◆ 1½tbsp fresh thyme leaves
◆ 100g (3½oz) walnuts, chopped
◆ 3tbsp dry sherry
◆ 6tbsp single cream
◆ 150g (5oz) vegetarian Brie, cut in to
2cm (¾in) pieces
◆ Plan flour, to dust
◆ 500g (1lb 2oz) all-butter puff pastry
◆ 1 medium egg, beaten
1 Melt half the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 7-8min, until soft and just golden, and then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour a little oil into the pan and increase the heat, add the mushrooms and fry for 8-10min (this will need to be done in batches, adding a dash of oil each time) until golden. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the remaining butter, garlic, thyme, walnuts, sherry and cream to the final batch of mushrooms, continue cooking for 2min. Return the shallots and the rest of the mushrooms to the pan, season well, stir in half of the Brie and set aside to cool. 2 Lightly flour a work surface and roll out a third of the pastry to 3mm (⅛in) thick. Cut out a 25.5cm (10in) pastry circle and put on a baking tray. Spoon half the cooled mushroom mixture into the centre of the pastry, leaving a 3cm (1¼in) border of pastry around the edge. Top with the remaining Brie, and then the remaining mushroom mixture. Brush the pastry border with egg. 3 Roll out remaining pastry to 3mm (⅛in) thick and cut out a 28cm (11in) circle. Lay over filling and smooth down to get rid of any air bubbles. Press down firmly on the edges to seal; trim into a neat circle (using base circle as a guide). Crimp the edges. Brush top with beaten egg and chill for at least 1hr. 4 Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Remove pithivier from the fridge and brush the chilled pastry with a little more egg, then, using a sharp knife, decorate the top by scoring curved lines from the centre to the edge of the pastry, bake for 30-35min, until golden and puffed. Serve with green salad and cranberry sauce, if you like. PER SERVING 492cals, 14g protein, 36g fat (18g saturates), 25g carbs (2g total sugars), 3g fibre ■ BRING-A-DISH TIP Complete the recipe up to 2 days in advance. Allow the pithivier to cool fully before wrapping tightly in foil. Chill. To reheat, unwrap and remove foil and bake for 15-20min at 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6 and serve straight away.