Pithivier of potato, portobello mushroom and Gruyère, braised leeks and mushroom bisque

  • 4
  • 3 hours plus 3 hours for setting the egg wash, and 24 hours for infusing the mushrooms
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This cheesy, vegetarian potato pithivier is filled with thin layers of mushrooms, spinach, Le Gruyère cheese and potato, and served alongside sweet braised leeks and a creamy mushroom bisque. The Le Gruyère cheese gives this pithivier a deep, nutty flavour and pairs well with the deeply savoury fried portobello mushrooms.

First published in 2022

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Mushroom bisque

Pithiviers

Braised leeks

Equipment

  • 6cm pastry ring
  • 7cm pastry ring

Method

1

Drop the button mushrooms into a very hot pan and cook until all the liquid has evaporated and they are dry

2

Once dry, add the butter and cook until the mushrooms are caramelised and golden brown

3

Drain off any excess butter and just barely cover the mushrooms with water. Bring to the boil

4

Remove the mushrooms from the heat and pour into a container. Seal with a lid and put in the fridge overnight to infuse

5

The next day, strain the liquid through a fine sieve and into a saucepan

6

Heat the liquid over a high heat until reduced, dark and syrupy

7

Add the cream, bring to a simmer and cook one minute more

  • 200ml of whipping cream
8

Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and lemon juice

9

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil

10

Cut out the potato slices into rings using the 6cm pastry ring. Add the potatoes and cook until tender

11

Meanwhile, melt 25g butter and add the spinach. Cook briefly, until just beginning to wilt, then tip into a colander to drain

12

Put the spinach into a clean tea towel and squeeze out all the water. Season the spinach heavily with salt and pepper, then put in the fridge to chill

13

Add the remaining 100g butter to a separate pan, and melt over a medium-high heat

14

Add the portobello mushrooms, skin side down, and cook on a medium heat until golden brown

15

Season with salt and flip the mushrooms. Add the chopped garlic and thyme leaves

16

Cook the mushrooms on the other side, basting with the garlicky butter, for 5 minutes more then season again and remove from the heat. Allow the mushrooms to rest for 10 minutes

17

Take the mushrooms out of the pan and pat them dry

18

Cut out 8 discs from the centre of the mushrooms using the 6cm pastry ring. Chill the cut mushrooms in the fridge

19

Place a 6cm pastry ring on a square of baking parchment. Put a mushroom into the bottom of the ring and then top it with a round of cheese

  • 16 slices of Gruyère, cut into 6cm rounds with the pastry cutter
20

Press in a thin layer of dry spinach and then another disc of cheese. Add a potato disc, then more cheese, spinach again and more cheese

21

Finish with a mushroom disc (facing skin side up)

22

The final layers should be: mushroom, cheese, spinach, cheese, potato, cheese, spinach, cheese, mushroom. If the stack is too high you may need to trim the mushrooms horizontally. Press down tightly

23

Repeat this process 3 times to make 4 stacks, and then put them in the fridge (still in their pastry rings) to set

24

Place four of the 120mm pastry discs onto squares of baking parchment

25

Put one ring of filling on each pastry disc, then remove the ring

26

Brush egg yolk around the edge of the stack of filling

27

Place another 120mm pastry disc over the top of the filling and then smooth the pastry down the sides of the stacks, squeezing out the air as you go and closing it at the bottom

28

Crimp the base to seal the two pieces of pastry and brush egg yolk all over

29

Put the pithivier in the fridge to set the egg wash, about an hour. Repeat this egg washing process two more times, leaving the pastries to dry each time, so you have 3 layers of yolk

30

While the egg wash dries, make the leeks. Add the butter to a medium frying pan over a medium-high heat

31

Add the leeks, thyme and garlic to the pan

32

Cook the leeks, without stirring, until they are golden brown on one side. Season with salt

33

Turn the leeks over, and brown again on the other side. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then pull the pan off heat and leave the leeks to cool

34

Once you have finished egg washing the pastries, cut a small hole in the top of the pastry to release steam as it cooks, and cut off the excess pastry from the base leaving a small lip. You’ll need a cutter roughly 7cm in diameter

35

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

36

Score the domes of the pithiviers for decoration and put them on an oven tray

37

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown

38

Warm through the leeks and the mushroom bisque. Divide the leeks between 4 serving bowls

39

Place a pithivier on each stack of leeks and pour around the warm mushroom bisque.

Tony Fleming built a reputation off sophisticated fish and seafood dishes at Angler, but now he's showing the full extent of his armoury at legendary restaurant Le Pont de La Tour, where he cooks classical, comforting food to the highest standards.

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