The occasional kitchen flop can sometimes be a blessing in disguise on several fronts. Most likely it helps to ensure that the same mistake won’t be made again in the future… and it can also serve to get those creative juices working to find ways of improving upon a particular recipe that didn’t turn out so well.
I recently made a batch of Nigel Slater’s ‘Tarts of leeks and cheese’, which sounded delicious, bringing together one of my very favourite vegetables with little cubes of Taleggio cheese. What could go wrong? All was going swimmingly, until I peered at my little tarts in the oven to find this…
Mr Slater had made the declaration in his recipe that “there is no need to press down to seal the edges, though you can if you want”. I decided (going against gut feeling) to trust him on this and hoped very much that my pastries would turn out as beautifully puffed as shown in his accompanying photo. Hmmm, no… it created crazy concertina-like creatures that seemed to be quite creepily invading my oven.
Anyway, my technique in the following recipe has been revised and modifications to the ingredients used as well. The Taleggio was too sweet for my liking, so I’ve replaced this with Gruyère and then I’ve also brought in some mushrooms, mustard and thyme to ramp up the overall flavour. A fabulous little appetiser to go with pre-dinner drinks or perhaps a great addition to a brunch spread with friends.
Leek, Mushroom & Gruyère Pastries | Gather and Graze
- 45g (3 Tablespoons) Unsalted Butter
- 150g (1 Medium) Leek (sliced, white and pale green parts only)
- 100g (3-4) Swiss Brown/Cremini Mushrooms (sliced thinly)
- Salt and Black Pepper
- 2 Teaspoons Wholegrain Mustard
- 50g (1/2 Cup) Gruyère Cheese (grated)
- 1-2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme (leaves removed from the stems and roughly chopped)
- 375g (All Butter) Puff Pastry
- 1 Free-Range Egg (beaten with a teaspoon of water to make an egg-wash)
Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/ and set aside a mini-muffin tin.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the sliced leek, along with a pinch of salt and allow to sweat gently with the lid on until softened. Check from time to time with a quick stir to make sure that the leek isn’t catching on the base. Remove the lid and continue cooking to allow any excess moisture to evaporate. Using a slotted spoon, remove the leek to a small mixing bowl and set aside for the moment.
Add the extra tablespoon of butter to the same saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until they start to turn a beautiful golden brown colour. Remove from the heat and add the mushrooms to the leek in the mixing bowl.
Season the leek and mushroom mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir in the wholegrain mustard, grated cheese and thyme leaves. Allow to cool a little, while you prepare the puff pastry.
Roll out the pastry to a rectangle (about the same size as the mini muffin tray) and cut into 12 equal sized squares. Lay each square over the holes of the mini muffin tray and scoop a dessertspoonful of mixture onto the top of each. Fold in the 4 corners to join in the middle and lightly brush each pastry with egg-wash.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Allow to cool, before serving either warm or at room temperature. A little home-made relish/chutney alongside would go perfectly!
Gather & Graze 
You came up with something amazing Margot, but I am pretty sure even the first batch with Taleggio was delicious!
Thank you Margherita! The first batch definitely still got devoured, but the second lot was soooo much better. Great to discover taleggio though… such a yummy cheese that I’ll be eating much more of in future. 😋
Fabulous
Thanks very much!
Your little tarts look and sound divine, Margot. Hope you are well.
Cheers Liz! Do hope you’re well too and have been enjoying the Southern Highlands… always a pleasure to see your photos and hear of your latest adventures on other social media. Apologies for taking this long to get back to you. Margot
oooh, that happens to me all the time! You just -know- you should be something different to the recipe but follow the instructions, then get angry at the resulting flop. I bet your first batch tasted just as good as the second! So delicious, I adore all of these ingredients.
Always better to trust your own instincts, isn’t it! Thanks gorgeous HM and so sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you! :o/ M.xx
Your pastry “creatures” are too cute! And your final presentation is deliciously beautiful. 🙂
Thank you Patty for your very kind words! SO very sorry it’s taken me so long to respond. Cheers, Margot
Oh Margot, these pastries are gorgeous and I love the leek, mushroom gruyere filling. Perfect appetizers/finger food! 😛
Thanks so much for your kind words Fae! 😊
Three of my favorite ingredients!!! Beautiful.
Mine too Mimi! Hope you have a lovely weekend. 🙂
These look so scrumptious. Love the new shape you gave them 👍☺
Thank you! Such a relief after the first batch. 😊
Margot, your version looks absolutely delightful and so inviting (love the addition of Gruyère and thyme), strong and flavorful.
Funny description of your little creatures (very often I ended with something like that into my oven) 😀
Have a nice day! 🙂 xx
Thank you dear Linda… Gruyère and thyme definitely pair well together, don’t they!? These really were delicious and disappeared from the plate very quickly. 😋 Enjoy the weekend! M.xx
*this from a non-baker with a smile’! Actually Margot I quite like the ‘love-in’ which initially appears to have happened in your oven when you were not looking!! A snuggle-fest!! Since you are using my favourite ingredients also really must get some pastry and see what happens in my oven: I know of quite a few friends who would be delighted!!
Thanks Eha, yes… a snuggle-fest indeed!😄 Hope you give them a try. Some of my favourite flavours too… wrapped in butter puff pastry… doesn’t get much yummier than that! Cheers, Margot
Well Margot your little puffy golden appetizers look and sound amazing. Have to laugh at the photo of the flopped pastry. It does look like it is growing out of control. Love the combination of leeks and gruyere, delicious, I always use in quiche. So good to see a post from you. Your photo’s are just beautiful.
Thanks so much Suzanne for stopping by! I’m happy for a touch of craziness in my kitchen now and then, but I’d never created anything quite this strange before… 😜
Hope you’re well… am coming across for a visit later today to catch up on all your latest posts. Sorry for my absence in the blogosphere of late!
Yours look delicious. As for Mr Slater’s – pop eyes on those and a few stripes and you could scare the kids early for Hallowe’en!
And I prefer your adaption. Really good combo. Especially the mustard with puff – so good together. Dunno if you’d remember an old English recipes I made for FTP where mustard was spread on the underside of the puff pastry and baked. Served with sausages and it was a surprise hit.
Cheers Johnny! Yes, they were certainly bizarre enough to qualify as Hallowe’en treats! 🎃
You know, I so wish that you’d left FTP open for the world to keep using… many a time I would have used your recipes as a resource and inspiration. You created such a fabulous blog, that it’s a shame to see it whisked off to oblivion. 😢 I’d be looking up your mustard puff pastry right now if I could.
Your method looks far more reliable. The tarts sound delicious Margot. Good to see you here
Thanks Sandra, the second batch were an absolute hit. Always happy to live and learn… So sorry that I’ve been such a bad blogging friend lately! I’m coming across today to see all that I’ve missed in the past couple of weeks.
I’ve taken up knitting, which seems to have distracted me from everything else lately… I’ve knitted a couple of chunky scarves using baby alpaca yarn, along with some wrist warmers, which has been a rather productive and useful winter-time hobby. 😊
Such pretty, pretty photos Margot. Love the slug-like shapes of the first batch and the delicious sounding ‘evolution’ of the wee, golden beauties.
Thanks Lisa! I did have a good laugh when I opened the oven door… almost like a bunch of puff pastry slinkies! 😜 Lucky they were just for the family to eat…