Mushroom Toast Tapas

Submitted by deborahlee555

"I had been wanting to try this recipe for a long time, and I'm glad I finally did. It was wonderful, and would make a great appetizer, first course, or even (as I had it) a very light dinner or lunch. I used parmesan cheese and dried parsley instead of fresh (I added the dried while cooking the mushrooms so the mushroom liquid would help reconstitute the parsley), and I combined two cooking methods (since there is a choice). Instead of frying or simply broiling, I brushed the pan and the tops with just a touch of olive oil and then put it under the broiler. The various cooking methods are explained at the bottom of the recipe. If you like mushrooms, I think you'll love this. The time is approximately what it took me to prepare them to the point of cooking. Since the different cooking methods have different times, I did not include that. I don't remember where I got the recipe from, but I'm glad I did. "

 

• Ready In: 35mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1⁄2 lb mushroom, stems cleaned,brushed clean,and coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• 1 tablespoon minced cured ham
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated manchego cheese or 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 4 slices good-quality sandwich bread, crusts removed

• WHITE SAUCE

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup milk, plus
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon dry white wine
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• nutmeg (be generous)
• cayenne (be generous)

directions

1. Prepare the white sauce by melting the butter over a low to medium heat in a saucepan and adding the flour.
2. Cook and stir for a few minutes, then add the milk and wine gradually and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth.
3. Season with the salt, pepper, nutmeg (to taste) and cayenne (to taste); although it is recommended to be generous with both the cayenne and nutmeg, it is your choice.
4. Remove from the heat and set aside.
5. In a skillet, heat the oil until it is very hot; add the mushrooms and saute over high heat for about 2 minutes.
6. (I added the dried parsley about 1 minute into the cooking time. If using fresh, wait until the next step.) If the mushrooms give off liquid, cook until it is evaporated before continuing.
7. Add the garlic, parsley (if not added before), ham, salt and pepper and turn off the heat.
8. Combine with the white sauce, stir in cheese, and mix until smooth and all ingredients are evenly distributed.
9. The mixture may be made ahead to this point and refrigerated.
10. Toast the bread lightly and cut each slice into two triangles.
11. Cover each triangle completely with 1/8 of the mushroom mixture.
12. There are a number of ways you can prepare this: Broil until golden, place them face down in 1/2 inch of hot oil to fry, or enclose in puff pastry dough.
13. If using puff pastry dough, you will need about 1 pound of pastry; cut the pastry into 3" strips and wrap them around 2 teaspoons of filling.
14. Bake at 400 for 8 minutes.
15. You can also use the filling for small pastry puff tart shells.

Reviews

[Matt30fl]

I made this with crescent roll dough in place of puff pastry. Outstanding recipe! I actually doubled the ham (Virginia style) and made w/o nutmeg, and it was great.

 

[jeyjey]

i did this recipe with the toast and my guest really liked it. i used 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and cayenne and they all thought it was just right. i used fresh parsley and parmasan cheese. excellent starter

 

[Dee514]

Wonderful recipe! I made these for an appetizer and everyone loved them. I confess to making a minor change to the ingredients (I used finely chopped walnuts for the ham....I'm a "veggie"); and a mixture of white mushrooms and baby bellas. I used the freshly grated parmesan cheese instead of the manchego, because thats what I had on hand. Pinot Grigio was my wine of choice, (again what was on hand), and dried parsley. For the appetizers, I filled mini puff pastry shells with the mixture. For lunch the next day, I had the filling on toast triangles (broiled). Both were wonderful, and I will definitely be making this again....I might add a pinch of tarragon to the filling next time, just to see how it turns out. Thanks for posting this recipe.

 

[Latchy]

I made this recipe as instructed using fresh parsley as I grow it. You said you could be generous with the cayenne and I was as I like a bit of spice. I also used parmesan freshly grated as that is always in my fridge. I put this mixture into puff pastry triangles and baked them in my turbo oven for 15 mins on 210C and they turned out great. When I make it next I think I will add a little chopped green onion.