Nigel Slater’s mushroom and dill tart

Nigel Slater’s mushroom and dill tart
Photograph by Jonathan Lovekin

Nigel Slater’s mushroom and dill tart is a bake to savour. The crisp pastry shell is filled with rich Parmesan custard and fried mushrooms.

Nigel Slater’s mushroom and dill tart
Photograph by Jonathan Lovekin

Recipe from A Cook’s Book by Nigel Slater (Fourth Estate £30).

Take a look at our savoury tart recipes collection.

  • Serves icon Serves 6
  • Time icon Hands-on time 30 min, plus chilling. Oven time 55 min

Nigel Slater’s mushroom and dill tart is a bake to savour. The crisp pastry shell is filled with rich Parmesan custard and fried mushrooms.

Recipe from A Cook’s Book by Nigel Slater (Fourth Estate £30).

Take a look at our savoury tart recipes collection.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories
676kcals
Fat
60.2g (33.4g saturated)
Protein
12.3g
Carbohydrates
20.6g (1.5g sugars)
Fibre
1.4g
Salt
0.6g

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • Butter 90g
  • Plain flour 150g
  • Egg yolk 1
  • Parmesan 40g, finely grated

For the filling

  • Double cream 400ml
  • Parmesan rind, about 10cm piece
  • Small mushrooms 300g
  • Olive oil 3 tablespoons
  • Dill 15g
  • Eggs 3, large

You’ll also need

  • 22cm tart tin with a removable base
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Method

  1. Cut the butter into cubes and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse, fresh breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg yolk, lightly beaten, and the parmesan, bringing the ingredients together into a firm ball of dough, adding a tablespoon or two of cold water if necessary. You can do this in seconds using a food processor.
  2. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured board and knead for 30 seconds or so (no longer), shaping it into a ball as you go. Wrap in cling film or baking parchment and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  3. While the dough chills, make the filling. Pour the cream into a medium-size saucepan, add the parmesan rind and bring to the boil. Watch carefully, removing the cream from the heat immediately when it starts to boil, then cover with a lid and set aside. Cut the mushrooms into small pieces. In a small frying pan, warm the oil, then fry the mushrooms for 4-5 minutes until slightly sticky. Chop the dill, fronds and thin stalks, toss with the mushrooms and set aside.
  4. Remove the dough from the fridge and tenderly roll into a disc large enough to line the tart tin. Press the pastry into the corners, patching it where necessary. Make certain there are no tears or holes. Chill for another 20 minutes, allowing the pastry to relax. Set the oven at 190°C and place an upturned baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up.
  5. Tuck a sheet of baking parchment or foil in the tart tin, fill with baking beans and slide into the preheated oven on top of the warm baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and beans and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until dry to the touch. Lower the heat to 180°C. Break the eggs into a bowl and beat gently, then add the cream (removing the parmesan rind). Season with salt and pepper, add the fried mushrooms, then spoon into the tart tin and bake for 25 minutes until lightly set, the pastry golden.

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving
Calories
676kcals
Fat
60.2g (33.4g saturated)
Protein
12.3g
Carbohydrates
20.6g (1.5g sugars)
Fibre
1.4g
Salt
0.6g

delicious. tips

  1. Nigel says: “Savoury tarts fail when too many ingredients are introduced. A cluttered tart, with too little custard to hold it together, will fall apart on the plate. The early recipes I made were given their savour with grated farmhouse cheddar. They were good, but with that came a fatty quality that was too rich for the egg and cream custard. There were attempts with crumbled stilton and gorgonzola, fontina and camembert, but it was those made with finely grated parmesan, pecorino or grana padano that won me over. The hard cheeses lent a clean, unfatty umami savour and texture that I love.”

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Recipe By:

Nigel Slater

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