Porcini Crusted Elk Wellington Creamed Spinach And Foie Gras In Puff Pastry Recipes

SPINACH IN PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat the butter in a saute pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the onion mixture, scallions, Gruyere, Parmesan, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and pignolis. Mix well.
• Unfold one sheet of puff pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the spinach mixture in the middle of the pastry, leaving a 1-inch border. Brush the border with the egg wash. Roll out the second piece of puff pastry on a floured board until it's an inch larger in each direction. Place the second sheet of pastry over the spinach and seal the edges, crimping them with a fork. Brush the top with egg wash but don't let it drip down the sides or the pastry won't rise. Make three small slits in the pastry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. Transfer to a cutting board and serve hot.

PORCINI CRUSTED ELK "WELLINGTON", CREAMED SPINACH AND FOIE GRAS IN PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Dredge loin in flour and shake off any excess. Dredge in eggs and then roll in the dried mushroom dust. In a hot skillet, add canola oil to coat the bottom, and sear each fillet over high heat until seared on all sides. Set aside.
• In a pot of boiling, salted water, blanch spinach for about 1 minute, until leaves are tender. Strain and immediately place in a bowl with ice and water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out any excess water from the spinach with your hands and place in a food processor. Add Parmesan, heavy cream, butter, and salt and pepper, to taste. Process until mixture is smooth and resembles a course paste.
• Spread the spinach mixture on 1 (16-inch) sheet of plastic wrap. The mixture should be 1 inch from the edge and about 8 inches long. Place seared loin on the far end of the spinach and use the plastic wrap to surround the rest of the meat with the spinach. Twist the ends to make the roll tight. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to set the spinach. Remove puff pastry from the freezer to thaw.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Roll out puff pastry until 1/4-inch thick. Place as many rolls as you can side by side on the sheet and cut pastry in between them (you will have the long strips from the width of the rolls). Roll each piece of pastry around the roll, leaving the twisted plastic sticking out the side, like candy. Roll until the pastry overlaps and cut off any excess. Brush the end with egg wash and seal tightly. Press the pastry firmly around the roll and squeeze the ends around the plastic. Prick pastry with a fork in several places. Place on a sheet pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until puff pastry is golden brown. To make sure meat is cooked to your liking, cut in half and check the doneness. If the meat is too rare, place the meat back in the oven for a few more minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Cut each steak in half. Hold on to the bundle as you pull the plastic wrap out the side. To do this, grab the end of the plastic that was sticking out (the twisted end) and pull. Some of the spinach mixture will be lost but most will still be inside.
• In a spice grinder (coffee grinder) grind mushrooms until finely ground. Do not use your regular coffee grinder. Purchase one especially for grinding spices.;

MORELS IN PUFF PASTRY WITH CREAM: FEUILLETES DE MORILLES A LA CREME

Steps:

• Wash the morels several times in water being very careful to remove the dirt from the interstices of the honeycombed cups. Lay on a towel to dry.
• Cut the puff pastry in half lengthwise and then in thirds crosswise to make 3 1/2-inch squares. Make 1/4-inch L-shaped cuts on opposing corners of the squares. Leaving 1/4-inch in opposite corners uncut. Whip the egg with a fork in a small bowl to make egg wash. Brush the wash over the pastry squares. Fold 1 corner over to the inside edge of the opposite edge, then repeat on the other side. This will make a 1/4-inch edge on the square with small diamond shapes on 2 corners.
• Put egg wash on the edges of the squares and place on a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake the pastry squares for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure not to undercook, as the pastry will fall when removed from the oven. These pastry squares may be made in advance and placed in an airtight container when cool.
• Blanch the asparagus in salted boiling water for approximately 2 minutes depending on the size of the asparagus stalks, or until just tender. Cool under cold water and set aside.
• In a saute pan, heat the butter. Lightly dust the morels in flour and place in the pan with the chopped shallots, salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until tender, and then add Madeira wine. Be sure to remove from the heat before adding the wine as the alcohol may flame. Return to heat and add the heavy cream and a pinch of nutmeg. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes until the cream has reduced to about 2 cups. Add the asparagus and turn the heat to low just to keep hot.
• Cut around the center square of the pastries, just 1/4-inch deep and remove the lid. Place the squares on the center of your plates and with a slotted spoon scoop the morels and asparagus into the center. Divide the sauce over the squares evenly and replace the lid. Garnish with chopped or whole sprigs of parsley.

CHEESE AND SPINACH PUFF PASTRY POCKETS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the frozen pastry shells on the baking sheet and bake until they puff and become golden brown, about 20 minutes. Using a small knife, cut out the center of the pastry shells.
• Meanwhile, stir the cream, milk, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the spinach, Fontina cheese, Parmesan, and green onions. Spoon the spinach mixture into the baked pastry shells. Bake until the pastries are golden brown and the filling is hot, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pastries to a platter and serve.

ACQUACOTTA

Steps:

• Heat up the extra-virgin olive oil in a deep saucepan. Add the onion and cook until soft. Then add the chopped mushrooms and chopped spinach and mix together. Add the chile pepper, salt, and pepper.
• Add the water, enough to cover the vegetables. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle with Parmigiano cheese.

"HIGH ROLLER" MUSHROOM PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cut the puff pastry into 60 even squares. Using a pastry brush, brush each square with the beaten egg. Place the squares on a greased sheet pan. Apply the black sesame seeds to the egg wash on top of the squares in different patterns to make them look like dice. Bake the puffs until golden brown about 12 minutes. Let the puffs cool. Cut the puffs in half horizontally for sandwiching.
• Clean and cut all the mushrooms. Heat a large saute pan. Add the cooking oil and saute mushrooms in small batches seasoning with garlic, shallots, salt and pepper. Spread sauteed mushrooms out onto a large tray and allow to cool. Chop the mushrooms and return them to the saute pan. Add the white wine and reduce until the liquid is almost completely evaporated. Add the cream and reduce again until thick.
• Place one scoop of mushroom mixture on the bottom layer of the puff pastry and then top with the other layer to form the sandwich.

PORCINI-CRUSTED FILET MIGNON WITH FRESH HERB BUTTER

Steps:

• Mix first 4 ingredients in small bowl for herb butter. Season butter to taste with salt and pepper. Process dried porcini mushrooms in spice grinder to fine powder. Transfer powder to plate. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Press steaks into porcini powder to coat both sides well.
• Melt 2 tablespoons herb butter in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add steaks to skillet and cook to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer steaks to plates. Spoon rounded tablespoon of herb butter atop each steak and serve.