These Parisian mushroom tarts are insanely delicious. Buttery, flakey puff pastry encapsulates a rich and deeply flavorful mushroom, proscuitto, port wine, and garlic mixture that has other-worldly flavor. Serve as a wonderfully warming autumn dinner or as a welcome change of routine for lunch or dinner when the holidays arrive.
Ingredients:
For the Mushroom Filling
1/4 ounce dried cépe mushrooms
1/4 ounce dried morel mushrooms
1/2 cup vegetable stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1/2 pound fresh white mushrooms
1 1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
pinch of cayenne
pinch of nutmeg
coarse kosher salt
1 or 2 thick slices of dry-cured ham such as Bayonne or Proscuitto
1/4 cup port wine
1 egg lightly whipped with 1 tablespoon of whole milk
For the Puff Pastry
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter
Preparation:
1. Make the Puff Pastry
Start the dough

melt two tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat taking care not to brown the butter.
Add in the butter block

Folding like a business letter fold the bottom third of the dough up over the chilled butter in the middle third
Do a series of three roll-outs, three-way-folds, and chills

Chill for thirty minutes. REPEAT THIS PROCESS OF ROLLING OUT, RE-FOLDING, AND CHILLING THREE MORE TIMES.

At the end of the fourth roll-out leave the rolled-out rectangle without re-folding and chill another 30 minutes
2. Prepare the mushroom filling
Combine the dried mushrooms with the stock and heat over medium heat to…

And line the tartelette molds you are using. Tonight I'm using a cupcake pan because I left my tartelette pans at the bakery where I am the pastry chef.

A cupcake pan will yield about 5 tartelettes, tartelette pans will yield about 4. Line the pans completely

For decoration I used a fluted-edge pastry roller to cut out leaves. Chill the lined pans, decorations, and remaining dough while you complete the next steps

Prepare a blonde-colored roux. For details on the production and use of roux check out http://reclaimingthegoodnameoftheepicurean.com/2011/10/10/back-to-basics-blonde-and-brown-roux/

Add the reserved mushroom/vegetable stock and stir until the roux is combined with the liquid over medium heat

Pour the dried mushrooms you cooked in the stock back in along with the Sauteéd white mushrooms, garlic, and shallot

Heat another two tablespoons of butter in the same pan you've been using, when hot add the ham and sauté until golden and crispy

Deglaze the pan by pouring in the port wine and, over medium heat scraping all the dark little flavor nuggets off the bottom of the pan

Fill the lined tartelette pans just to the top. Take a pastry brush and brush the exposed top of the puff pastry lining the pans with the egg-and-milk mixture (professionals refer to this as "egg wash")

Cut circles out of the remaining puff pastry and cover the mushroom mixture, pressing the dough down over the egg-washed pastry in the pan. Affix the decorations to the top and gently brush egg wash over the tops. The egg wash gived the tartelettes their golden brown color

Bake the tartelettes in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for 20-30 minutes. If you like your pastries darker cook them until they look like mine, but just pull them out sooner for a lighter, more golden appearance. When the crust is the color you like they're done.
Enjoy with a nice, slightly spicy French red wine. Bordeaux lends itself perfectly to this dish. I would recommend Château Lalande 2001 Bordeaux, for a review of this bottle check out http://reclaimingthegoodnameoftheepicurean.com/2011/10/05/hump-day-vices-chateau-lalande-an-exceptional-value-from-bordeaux/. Bon Appétit