Duxelle Burger

With but a few key ingredients – duxelle, a well seasoned patty, sharp Comté cheese, peppery arugula, and homemade burger sauce – this is the kind of burger that needs nothing else. No tomato. No fancy gourmet toppings. Definitely no ketchup.

Recipe and photo by Kathy of eatHalifax

Prep Time: 15 mins. | Cook Time: 30 mins. | Serves: 4

Ingredients

duxelle:
1 tbsp. butter
1 shallot
1 clove garlic
½ lb. mixed mushrooms (shiitake, crimini, porcini)
pinch dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
burger sauce:
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 ½ tsp. Dijon
1 small shallot
3 gherkins1 lb. medium ground beef
salt and pepper
4 hamburger buns
1 cup finely grated Comté cheese
1 cup arugula

1 lb. medium ground beef
salt and pepper
4 hamburger buns
1 cup finely grated Comté cheese
1 cup arugula

Method

1. For the duxelle, pulse the shallots and garlic in a food processor until finely minced. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic; cook 3 minutes until soft. Pulse the mushrooms in the food processor until finely chopped. Add the mushrooms to the skillet with a pinch of salt and thyme. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their liquid, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. For the burger sauce, add the ingredients to a food processor. Process until well combined. Refrigerate until use.
3. Divide ground beef into four portions. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Form each into a ball then flatten into a patty. Season well all over with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a heavy cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Cook 2 burgers at a time until well browned, about 3-5 minutes. Flip and cook another 3-5 minutes. depending on desired doneness. Repeat with remaining burgers. Top with cheese, cover and let steam until cheese is melted. If desired, toast buns.
4. To serve, top bottom bun with duxelle, a burger, and arugula. Spread burger sauce on top bun and enjoy!
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Mushroom Soup Gratinée

What a better way to warm up and stay cozy than having a delicious broth of vegetables simmering on the back burner. This mushroom soup is a bit of a twist on the classic French Onion.

Prep Time: 15 mins. | Cook Time: 30 mins. | Serves: 6

Ingredients

3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 red onion, diced
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (.5 oz/14 g) package dried porcini mushrooms
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup red wine
6 slices sourdough bread at least 3 inches in diameter
1 cup shredded Gruyére

Method

1. Heat the butter in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the diced onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, until they are translucent.
3. Stir in the garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking for another 8 minutes or so, until the mushrooms have softened.
4. Stir in the mustard, thyme, salt, pepper and cook another minute. Stir in the stock and wine. Bring to a boil, cover and turn the heat to medium-low.
5. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
6. Place the bread on a baking sheet and divide the cheese among the slices.
7. Place the baking sheet under the broiler and toast until the croutons are golden brown.
8. Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with a cheesy crouton.

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Wild Mushroom and Bacon Crostini

Mushrooms, bacon and thyme are one of my favourite flavour profiles and together they make a simple, easy to prepare appetizer.  Sliced mushrooms, onions and garlic are sautéed in bacon fat, with a touch of brandy and cream.  Crispy bacon bits and thyme are stirred in at the end, then spooned on to warm, toasted baguette that is lightly brushed with olive oil.  Preparation only takes minutes, leaving you time to get ready before the party, where I’m sure these tasty nibbles will be a hit.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Renee from Sweetsugarbean.

Prep Time: 15 mins. | Cook Time: 25 mins.

Ingredients

5 pieces of bacon
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups assorted wild mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup brandy
1 tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup whipping cream
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried
salt and pepper to taste
1 baguette, 1 inch slice
extra virgin olive oil
pea shoots for garnish

Method

1. In a frying pan over medium high heat, cook the bacon until crispy.  Remove bacon from pan and add stir in  the minced onions and garlic.  Cook until golden brown, over medium heat, being careful not to burn.
2. Add the sliced mushrooms, brandy and mustard to the onions and garlic and cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.  Stir in the cream, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer until thick.  Chop the bacon and stir it in along with thyme leaves.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Brush sliced baguette with olive oil and toast in a preheated 375*F oven until just crispy, about 5 minutes.  Spoon mushroom and bacon mixture on top of warm bread, garnish with pea shoots and serve.

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Wild Mushroom Fettuccine

Recipe courtesy of Kelly from The Gouda Life.

Prep Time: 10 mins. | Cook Time: 20 mins.

Ingredients

1lb wild mushrooms (porcini, crimini, oyster, shiitake etc)
3/4 pound fettuccine
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp fresh Italian/flat-leaf parsley, rough chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
sea salt & fresh ground pepper
extra Parmesan to serve (optional)
extra parsley to serve (optional)

 

Method

1. Bring a large pot of generously-salted (very important as this dish is so simple) water to a boil and cook pasta to just under al dente according to package instructions. If the package says 9 minutes, take out around 7. Reserve 1 cup of starchy pasta water before straining.
2. In a dry, heavy-bottom skillet set over medium-high heat, brown mushrooms in batches until golden and crisp. I browned each variety of mushroom on its own as they may have different moisture levels. It should take about 6-7 minutes per batch to get them nice and golden – don’t rush this part. It’s the big flavour maker!
3. Once all your mushrooms have been browned, remove everything from the pan. Add the butter and olive oil to pan and let it get shimmering and hot. Add the garlic and let it cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, parsley and red pepper flakes and sauté until everything is combined, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Strain pasta (don’t forget to reserve 1 cup starchy water), and add back to large pot. Scoop the mushroom mixture into the pasta, making sure to really scrape all the good bits from the pan, with the Parmesan cheese and 1/4 cup of starch water and toss. If it’s too dry, add more water a little at a time until you’ve got a nice, loose mushroom sauce coating all the noodles. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.
5. Garnish each serving with pine nuts, extra cheese, parsley and fresh ground pepper.
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Fresh Pasta with a Crimini and Porcini Mushroom Sauce

My dad has always believed in the importance of using real ingredients in the kitchen, no matter what the dish; so if you want high quality taste, use high quality ingredients. Using real butter and real cream is essential to this dish! The quantities for this recipe are sufficient to feed a group of 6 hungry adults, so you will need to scale it back proportionately for a smaller yield. 

Recipe courtesy of Daniele and photos courtesy of Nina from Nina Polidoro Photography.

Prep Time: 40 mins. | Cook Time: 20 mins. | Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1 ½ cups of 18% cream
150 g (6 0z) butter
1 cup chicken (or vegetable) stock
3 packages of fresh pasta
1 lb fresh crimini mushrooms
30 g dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 small onion
fresh parsley, grated parmesan cheese
salt, pepper (in Italian, this would be accompanied by “QB,” meaning “quanto basta” – “to your taste,” “as much as you like,” or “sufficiently”)

Method

1. Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes.
2. Clean and dry the crimini mushrooms. Chop mushrooms into large enough pieces that they can be found in the sauce (avoid chopping them too finely). Place into a bowl.
3. Finely chop a handful of fresh parsley.
4. Gently squeeze water from the porcini mushrooms, and collect 4-5 oz of the resulting mushroom juice; don’t use the grit in the bottom of the bowl! (You could also strain with a cheese cloth.)
5. Coarsely chop the soaked porcini mushrooms.
6. Finely chop ½ of a small onion.
7. Put on a big pot of water to boil – add a tablespoon of salt when the water starts simmering.
8. Set the table. Make it look pretty.
9. Melt butter in the pan on medium heat, bringing it to a sizzle.
10. Add onions, frying them until golden in colour – add the mushrooms, and bring the mixture to a high temperature. Allow this to cook for about 8 minutes, stirring regularly.
11. Add 3 pinches of parsley, and the mushroom juice (about 1 cup), chicken stock (1 cup – this could be substituted for vegetable stock, if you prefer), and cream (1 ½ cups).
12. Stir the sauce, and reduce to medium heat.
13. Add pepper to taste (or QB!)
14. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes once the cream has been added; it may look like a lot of sauce in comparison to the amount of pasta you’re using, but the pasta will soak up some of the sauce.
15. Add pasta to boiling water, stir regularly to ensure it doesn’t stick (for this quantity of fresh pasta, this takes approximately 5-7 minutes to reach el dente).
16. Strain the pasta and add to sauce in a serving bowl. Garnish pasta with fresh parsley, and add grated parmesan to taste.
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