Wild Mushroom Gratin
The fresh wild mushrooms create a flavorful variation on a French classic. This could also be a side dish. The crust and mushroom mixture can be prepared two days in advance. Keep the crumbs in an airtight container and refrigerate the mushrooms. Heat the mushrooms in the top of a double boiler over low heat before the final browning.
Ingredients
- Herb Crust
- Fresh White Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup
- Freshly grated Gruyere Cheese - 1/2 cup
- Fresh Parsley - 1 tablespoon, chopped
- Fresh basil - 1 tablespoon, chopped
- Fresh Thyme - 1 teaspoon, chopped
- Mushrooms
- Chanterelles - 1-1/2 cups, cleaned, stemmed and halved if large
- Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms - 2 cups, cleaned, stemmed, and quartered
- Italian field mushrooms or oyster mushrooms - 1/2 cup, cleaned and sliced
- Unsalted Butter - 2 tablespoons
- Shallots - 3 tablespoons, sliced
- Garlic - 1 teaspoon minced
- Dry Sack or other Dry Sherry - 1/2 cup
- Madeira - 1/4 cup
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1-3/4 cups
- Cracked black pepper - 1/2 teaspoon
- Kosher salt - 1 tablespoon
- Rosemary Sprigs - 6
Instructions
To prepare the herb crust: Combine all the ingredients and set aside.
To prepare the mushrooms: Preheat a broiler. Butter four individual gratin dishes. Combine the mushrooms and melt the butter in a saute pan or skillet over high heat. When the butter is hot, add the mushrooms and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently but gently with a wooden spoon, until golden brown. Add the shallots and saute 2 minutes more, then add the garlic and saute another minute.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove the mushrooms from the pan with a slotted spoon and reduce the sauce over low heat, stirring frequently, until it coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes.
Place the mushrooms back in the sauce, along with any juices that have accumulated, and divide the mixture into the prepared gratin dishes. Splash with a little more sherry and sprinkle with the crust mixture. Brown under the broiler.
To serve: Slip the mushrooms, sauce, and topping out of the gratin dishes onto serving dishes, letting the juices pool around the mushroom mixture. Garnish each with a rosemary sprig.
