Divine Mushroom Bacon and Black Garlic Cashew Cream Tartlets (Vegan & Gluten-Free)
These exquisite little tartlets are a taste sensation. The pastry has a subtle sesame flavour that works perfectly with the creamy black garlic filling, topped with this divinely salty mushroom “bacon”. They are actually vegan and gluten free but don’t save them for your vegan friends – they are so good that everyone will devour them!
60gfresh filtered water, (in addition to the boiled soaking water)
1teaspoonblack garlic paste
¼teaspoonsalt
Pastry
50gcoconut oil, softened or vegan butter
150galmond flour
80gcoconut flour
60gtapioca flour
50gtahini
1teaspoonsalt
90mlwater
Instructions
Set the oven to pre-heat to 200°C.
First, thinly slice the mushrooms and combine the rest of the mushroom bacon ingredients in a bowl. Carefully mix the sliced mushrooms with the marinade in the bowl using your hands or a silicon spoon. Then set aside, mixing occasionally.
Measure out the cashews into a jug or bowl and cover with plenty of boiling water. Set aside to soak for at least 15 minutes or until you’re ready to make the cashew cream.
Meanwhile, put all the pastry ingredients except the water into a food processor and pulse a few times until it looks like fine breadcrumbs then, with the food processor running, pour in the cold water slowly through the spout until the mixture comes together. (You may not need all the water or you may need a little more – it depends on your flours and the temperature and humidity of your kitchen. Just add enough to make the fine breadcrumb texture change to larger clumps that you can easily pull together into a pliable dough). Once it pulls together into a clump, empty the dough onto a piece of clingfilm, wrap it up, push it together into a disc shape and pop it in the freezer to cool and harden up for a few minutes.
While the pastry is in the freezer, line a baking tray with baking paper and, using a slotted spoon, take the mushrooms out of the marinade and lay in a single layer on the baking tray. Try not to include too much of the marinade as the more liquid you have, the longer they will take to dry out in the oven. Pop them in the oven to cook for about 20-30 minutes at 200°C, turning half way through, until they are dehydrated and a little crispy.
When the pastry has firmed up so that it is cold but still a little soft, take it out and unwrap. Take small balls of pastry and press down into the holes of the mini-muffin tin, pushing each bit down to line the bottom and sides of each hole. If you haven’t enough to cover the hole completely, just push another little piece of pastry in to patch it up. Then cut around the top of each hole.
Pop the tin into the oven for 5-10 minutes at 200°C until pale golden brown and the bottom has lost any hint of greyish colour. I find this pastry is better over-cooked than under-cooked, so don’t be afraid to pop it back in the oven for longer than the 10 minutes if it still looks a little grey on the bottom. It’s quite forgiving pastry so can take quite a long time in the oven if need be (I once got distracted and left it in the oven for 20 minutes and it was fine!).
Once they are ready, take them out of the oven. Leave to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes then use a teaspoon to carefully ease the cases out of the holes. Set out on a cooling rack to cool.
When the mushroom bacon is dehydrated and to your desired crispiness, take it out of the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes. (It will get a little crispier on cooling.)
Meanwhile make the cashew cream. Drain the cashews from the soaking water (throw away the soaking water). Put the soaked cashews into a blender and add the filtered water, black garlic paste and salt. Blend on full power for about a minute until it is very smooth and creamy. (you may need to scrape down the sides a few times with a spatula in between spurts of blending).
Once the pastry cases are cool, fill with the cashew cream and top with the mushroom bacon.
Sprinkle with a little sweet smoked paprika or chopped chives to garnish.
Notes
You might want to make a double batch of the mushroom bacon to keep some in the freezer for topping salads, risottos, pasta, soups, etc.
These can be made in advance. Just keep each different component separate in a sealed container in the fridge and then assemble up to an hour before you need them.