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Older aged Comté with wild mushroom pâté with port/brandy & nutmeg

Recipe by: Chef Laura Pope

Ingredients

  • 15g dried porcini mushrooms
  • 150ml port
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • 300g mixed wild mushrooms (or a selection of the best you can find such as chestnut, oyster, shiitake), sliced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 50g cream cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 sheet (5g) leaf gelatine
  • To serve: thin slices of toasted bread or crackers
  1. Place port and 200ml of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the dried mushrooms and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Remove the mushrooms to a chopping board and bring the remaining liquid to the boil again and cook for about 5 minutes until reduced by about half. Meanwhile, finely chop the rehydrated mushrooms.  
  2. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan. Add the onion and fry over a medium heat for about 8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, chopped rehydrated mushrooms, the fresh mushrooms and the thyme, turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for about 5 minutes. Add 100ml of the port liquid (keep the remaining liquid) and the lemon juice and season well with ½ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Continue cooking for another couple of minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed, then set aside to cool.  
  3. Once cool, place the mushroom mixture in a food processor the cream cheese and parsley. Process until almost smooth, but with a little texture. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the pâté in a serving dish (or individual dishes) and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  
  4. When the pâté has chilled, place the gelatine leaf in a small bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to soften it. Heat the reserved port liquid until warm. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatine and add it to the port, then stir over low heat until the gelatine has completely dissolved.  Allow the jelly liquid to cool before carefully pouring it over the pâté. Return to the fridge to let the jelly set.  
  5. Serve with thin slices of toasted bread or crackers. Will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
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