Mom’s Mushroom Turnovers Redesigned
parmesan black pepper focaccia toasts, mushroom mousseline, juniper smoked créme fraiche powder, porcini garlic soil and crispy enoki mushroom strands
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An hors d’oeuvre that I remember fondly from my childhood are my mom’s mushroom turnovers. From my research, they appear to have been created in the 70’s as an easy-to-make-ahead appetizer that could be frozen and baked right before a party. My mom loved to entertain, so it’s no surprise she made these little treats. And also no surprise, I’d hide under the table and eat them by the handful (along with her pigs-in-a-blanket, deviled eggs and sweet-and-sour meatballs). I also loved to put canned black olives on my fingers and eat those one-by-one. Now that I think about it, when my parents had a party I was definitely the one pigging out, but I digress.
In thinking how I might redesign these little pockets of joy, I channeled my inner Chef Brooke Williamson. I’ve had the fortune of eating her food and now, with cookbook in hand, have slowly been making her recipes one-by-one. I spent some time digging into how she approaches a new recipe (produce first) and the qualities that are always present in every dish (big flavors and plenty of textures).
Brooke’s California cuisine focuses on hyper-local, seasonal produce. This was a natural starting point for my updated dish, as Wanaka, NZ is home to a great local mushroom purveyor and even a few forageable ones that might not kill you.
When I began working on this recipe, I starting with a series of components that I thought could accomplish the same flavor profiles using new techniques and updated ingredients. The original recipe lacked texture, so I focused on ways to add crunch without losing the fabric of the dish.
After a few weeks of fiddling with everything from meringues and consommés to filled pastas and crispy chicken skin, I began weeding out what wasn’t working. (News flash, none of those made the final cut.) But I did taste some things that made a lot of sense, including using mushrooms in multiple ways to intensify their flavor (something Brooke often does in her competition cooking). I also found that adding in some smokiness provided depth and even a comfort to the dish. In a weird way, it may have even harkened back to those 70’s parties when it was still ok to smoke in the house.
In the end, my updated take retains my favorite things about my mom’s beloved turnovers, reviving this forgotten finger food with a modern approach using local, seasonal produce, big flavors and plenty of texture.
4
servings28
hours2
hoursEquipment
- Scale
- Saucepan
- 10″ Cast-Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- Parmesan Black Pepper Focaccia
375 g All-Purpose Flour
50 g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
30 g Grana Padano, finely grated
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Sugar
3 tsp Black Pepper, coarsely ground
1 1/2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 tsp Maldon Sea Salt
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- Mushroom Mousseline
200 g White Button Mushrooms, finely diced
100 g Portobello Mushrooms, finely diced
150 g Shallots, finely minced
2 tbsp Butter
4 tbsp Sherry Wine
1 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
50 g Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
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- Smoked Créme Fraiche Powder
40 g Créme Fraiche
6 Juniper Berries
60 g N-Zorbit M, or more as-needed
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- Porcini Garlic Soil
4 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
50 g Bread Crumbs, coarsely grated
10 g Porcini Powder
5 g Garlic Powder
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- Crispy Enoki Mushroom Strands
15-20 Enoki Mushroom Strands
80 g Tapioca Flour
30 g All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Lager Beer
1 cup Grapeseed Oil
1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
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- Garnish
1 g Chives, finely minced
1 handful Microgreens
Directions
- Parmesan Black Pepper Focaccia
- Combine 1 1/2 cups wrist-temperature water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Leave for 5 mins to allow yeast to bloom and get frothy.
- Whisk flour, 30g of Parm, 20g Grana Padano, salt and 2 tsp black pepper in a large bowl.
- Pour water into flour mixture and combine with a rubber spatula until a sticky dough forms with no dry patches remaining. Cover tightly plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature 15 mins.
- Uncover dough and, using a wet hand, stretch one side up and over to meet the opposite side. Turn bowl 90° and repeat stretching process. Do this until you have completed a full circle. This is 1 full fold. Cover dough and let rest 15 mins.
- Repeat folding process every 15 mins for a total of 3 times. By the end of the third fold, the dough should be significantly smoother and tighter.
- Drizzle dough with a tbsp of olive oil and turn to coat. Turn dough seam side down, cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rest over night.
- Using 1 tbsp, butter a cast-iron skillet and then pour 4 tbsp of olive oil into skillet, swirling to coat. Transfer dough to skillet, turning to coat dough with oil. Using your fingers, press dough to edges of skillet. If dough resists, let rest 5 mins before trying again. Cover skillet and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 2–3 hours, depending on the temperature of the room.
- Preheat to 450F/235C. Holding fingers like a claw, dimple focaccia. Sprinkle surface with Maldon salt.
- Bake focaccia until golden brown and thermometer inserted into the center registers 200F/95C, 20–25 mins.
- While focaccia is baking, mix remaining cheeses and black pepper in a small bowl.
- Once focaccia has finished baking, remove and brush with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over top. Return focaccia to oven and bake until cheese is melted, about 2 mins. Let focaccia cool in pan 5 mins before removing to wire rack. Let cool at least 15 mins before slicing.
- Melt remaining 1 tbsp butter in existing cast-iron skillet. Slice focaccia into thin, 2-bite pieces and toast on both sides.
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Mushroom Mousseline - Melt butter in non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until soft, but not brown, about 3 mins. Add mushrooms and sauté until softened, 8-10 mins.
- Add sherry and cook off until evaporated.
- Add flour and cook for at least 2 mins.
- Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Set aside to cool for at least 10 mins, then blend until very smooth.
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Smoked Créme Fraiche Powder - Warm créme fraiche in small sauce pan until melted.
- Remove from heat, insert smoking gun tube and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
- Add juniper berries to smoking gun and smoke for 5 mins. Once smoked, allow to cool to room temp.
- Add smoked créme fraiche and N-Zorbit M to food processor. Mix thoroughly until créme fraiche turns to a powder. You may need more N-Zorbit M to get to the consistency you want.
- Powder should melt instantly on the tongue when eaten.
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Porcini Garlic Soil - Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once glistening, add bread crumbs
- Toast bread crumbs until golden. Add porcini and garlic powders and toast for another minute or two.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
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Crispy Enoki Mushroom Strands - Whisk flours together until combined. Add beer and whisk until combined and frothy. Allow to sit for 10 mins.
- Heat oil in small sauce pan to 375F/190C.
- Using tweezers or chopsticks, take each mushroom strand one at a time and dip into the batter. Quickly fry for 1 min until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt. Repeat with each strand.
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To Plate - Put a teaspoon of mushroom soil in center of dish and sprinkle a little bit more around plate.
- Sprinkle créme fraiche powder around plate.
- Make a small quenelle of mousseline and dollop on plate next to soil mound.
- Add a few strands of crispy enoki mushrooms steaming from center of plate.
- Sprinkle a few chives and microgreens around the plate.
- Finally, add a couple of the focaccia crisps, ideally standing vertical from the corner of the quenelle or soil.