RecipeTin Eats’ mushroom ragu pithivier

Name: RecipeTin Eats’ mushroom ragu pithivier
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 2 pies (to serve 4 total)
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 20g dried porcini mushrooms; ¾ cup white wine (or use vegetable stock); 500g white mushrooms, quartered; 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 1 tbsp unsalted butter; ½ onion, finely diced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 medium carrot, shredded using a box grater; 1 celery stalk, shredded using a box grater; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1½ tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary; 1½ tbsp plain flour; ½ cup low-salt vegetable stock; 200g diced canned tomato (½ a can); 1 bay leaf; 1¼ tsp cooking salt; ½ tsp black pepper

RecipeTin Eats

June 5, 2023

Vegetarian-friendly pithiviers filled with mushroom ragu.Rob Palmer

Time:2 hours +Makes:2 pies (to serve 4 total)

This filling is based on the fan-favourite mushroom lasagne in my cookbook, Dinner. Everyone is always amazed at the big umami flavour you can get into a vegetarian dish.

Ingredients

20g dried porcini mushrooms
¾ cup white wine (or use vegetable stock)
500g white mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
½ onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, shredded using a box grater
1 celery stalk, shredded using a box grater
2 tbsp tomato paste
1½ tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1½ tbsp plain flour
½ cup low-salt vegetable stock
200g diced canned tomato (½ a can)
1 bay leaf
1¼ tsp cooking salt
½ tsp black pepper

Method

Step 1
Soak the porcini in wine (or vegetable stock) for 30 minutes. Remove the porcini from the liquid, squeeze out any excess then finely chop the mushrooms. Set aside both wine and porcini.
Step 2
Blitz the white mushrooms in a food processor until very finely chopped. Do this in batches, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
Step 3
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-based pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery and cook for 3 minutes until soft. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
Step 4
Add the chopped white mushrooms and rosemary, cooking for 5 minutes until softened. Add the porcini mushrooms and reserved white wine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Add flour, stir for 1 minute. Add the stock and boil for 5 minutes, until reduced by about half.
Step 5
Add the diced tomato, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Return to the boil then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until the consistency is like bolognese sauce.
Step 6
Set a large fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the mushroom ragu in. Leave for 1 hour, pressing lightly to extract the sauce, until you have about ⅓ to ½ a cup of sauce. Allow both the sauce and the mushroom filling to cool, then store separately in the fridge until required.
Step 7
Proceed to pithivier construction steps.

Notes:

The mushroom ragu is inherently juicier than the meat fillings, so we don’t need as much sauce for pouring into the pie.
However, if you have less sauce than specified, the flavour will be too intense. Dilute with water.
If you have too much sauce after straining out the filling, reduce it on the stove to the target quantity (otherwise the flavour may be too diluted).
Freeze the filling in the bowl (see pithivier building). Once frozen, release the filling from the bowl and return it to the freezer, where it will keep for up to 3 months.