Sautéed Shiitake Mushrooms with Foie Gras Mousse and Port Wine Sauce
Frank Lee combines the flavors of foie gras, mushrooms, and port wine for this lovely dish. Foie gras mousse is mounded in mushroom caps and sautéed, then baked to set. The filled mushroom caps are served on a bed of wilted spinach with a rich port wine sauce.
Ingredients
- Foie Gras Mousse
- Raw Chicken - 6 ounces, cut into chunks
- Foie gras - 3-1/2 ounces
- Salt - 1 teaspoon
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1-1/4 cup
- Port Wine Sauce
- Balsamic Vinegar - 2 ounces
- Ruby Port - 8 ounces
- Veal Stock - 2 cups (alt. beef stock), see basics
- Corn Starch - 1/2 teaspoon
- Cold Water - 3 tablespoons
- Unsalted Butter - 1 tablespoon
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of freshly ground pepper
- Mushrooms
- Shiitake Mushrooms - 12 large, stemmed
- Foie Gras Mousse - 2 cups (recipe follows)
- Spinach - 2 pounds, fresh, stemmed, washed, and dried
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Chicken Stock - 1/4 cup (see Basics)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Unsalted Butter - 1 tablespoon
- Chives - 8 – 10, chopped
Instructions
To make the mousse: In the bowl of a food processor, blend the chicken, foie gras, and salt until smooth. Place in a stainless steel bowl set into a larger bowl filled with ice. Add half of the cream, mixing slowly by hand with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Continue to work in the remaining cream until the mixture is well blended. Let stand over ice until the mousse has thickened.
To make the sauce: In a heavy non-aluminum saucepan, bring the vinegar and port to a boil over medium-high heat and cook rapidly until reduced by half. Add the stock and continue cooking until reduced by half again. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Remove the sauce from the heat and add half of the cornstarch mixture. Stir until thickened slightly; if more thickening is desired, add more of the cornstarch mixture. Add the butter to the sauce and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm over hot water until ready to serve.
To prepare the mushrooms: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Stuff each mushroom cap with two to three tablespoons of foie gras mousse, mounding it in the center of each cap. In a large ovenproof skillet, melt the remaining butter over medium-high heat and sauté the shiitakes, cap-side first, until lightly browned. Turn and continue cooking on the mousse side for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly browned. Put in the oven and cook 5 to 6 minutes longer to set the mousse. Remove from the oven and place mousse-side down off the heat.
Sauté the spinach in a large sauté pan with 1-1/2 tablespoons of the butter and the chicken stock until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain well.
To serve: Stir 1 tablespoon of butter into the sauce. Create a bed of spinach on each of four serving plates. Place 3 mushrooms on each, mousse-side up. Drizzle the mushrooms with port wine sauce. Sprinkle the dishes with chopped chives.
