Photo by Eugenia Bone
Provenance of Dish
I saw a version of this recipe in The Guardian and knew I had to make it with my own mushroom duxelles (every so often I make a batch and keep it in the fridge). These rolls are really easy and kinda addictive: I'd say they fall into the mycostoner category. To make life easier, I use grocery store frozen puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm) but you can always make your own.
Recipe
Ingredients
For the Duxelles
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups white button and/or cremini mushrooms (you can make duxelles out of other species, too, like Hen of the Woods), finely chopped
1 cup white onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
For the Rolls
1 sheet defrosted puff pastry, about 10" X 10"
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 lb sausage meat (either loose, or buy sausages and remove casings)
6 tablespoons duxelles
1 small egg, beaten
Instructions
First make the duxelles (this will make about 1/2 cup)
Heat the oil in a large iron skillet or dutch oven over a medium heat. (The size of the pan is important because if you use a narrow, deep pan then the mushrooms may steam. What you want here is a golden brown crumbly pesto of mushroom.) When the oil wrinkles, add the mushrooms and the onions. Saute for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms have given off their water, and then the water has evaporated. The mushrooms will take on a golden brown color. Add the sherry and let that cook out too, and then keep cooking, stirring frequently, up to another 10 minutes, then season to taste.
You can hold duxelles in the fridge for a few days if you pack it into a sterilized jar (that is, a jar that has been boiled in water for 10 minutes at sea level, adding 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above).
For the rolls, preheat the oven to 350F.
Lay your sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured board. Sprinkle some flour over the pastry. With a rolling pin, gently roll out the pastry until it is 1 to 2 inches bigger on all sides. Cut the pastry into six pieces, about the size of very large playing cards. Brush off any extra flour and then brush the mustard on each "card."
Season the sausage meat and divide it into six oblong meat balls. Place a sausage ball close to the top of each "card." Add a tablespoon of duxelles next to each meatball. Roll up the pastry from the top down, encasing the sausage and duxelles. With your brush, add a little of the beaten egg to seal the dough.
Place the rolls seam side down on a baking sheet (I use a silpat in my baking sheet--no sticking!). Brush the tops of the rolls with a little more beaten egg. Cut a couple of slits in the rolls so the steam can vent during cooking and pop them in the oven for about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown. (Keep an eye out: they burn easily.)
These hold great in the fridge, and can be reheated in a low oven.
