I know, without a doubt, that everyone in this world deserves a little luxury at some point in their life and truffles are the ultimate foodie luxury. I first discovered truffles while undertaking my professional chef training and I couldn’t quite believe how wonderful the flavour was.
I have since experienced the joy that is fresh truffles in both The Oxo Tower and The Shard in London (I know, I’m a lucky lady). Of course there are cheaper ways of getting that decadent flavour and there are a great many truffle oils and truffle products on the market right now (my preference being the Truffle Hunter range of products).
Truffles pair exceptionally well with mushrooms and the intensity of flavour is exactly what is needed in a canape. In this recipe I have laid out the steps for making both the crostini bases and the pate (faux gras).
One point to note is, if you are serving these canapes to a crowd, it would be best to create the quenelle shapes of pate and transfer them to a tray lined with a sheet of greaseproof paper which you can store in the fridge until use. When ready, scoop the quenelles carefully onto each crostini using a palette knife. This will keep the crostini crisp right up until the point of service.
A note about allergies – there are many allergy sufferers out there who may experience severe anaphylaxis when eating nuts. It is vital that you know whether any of your guests have such an allergy before serving this dish. I also recommend scattering a few cashew nuts on the serving dish or atop the canapes to demonstrate that they contain nuts. Please do make sure your servers tell any potential partakers that they contain nuts as well.
Mushroom, Truffle & Cashew Nut Faux Gras (Pate) Crostini
Equipment
- Frying pan
- Food processor such as a Magi Mix
- Baking tray
Ingredients
For the Faux Gras
- 1 tsp Light olive oil
- 90 g Onion Approximately one small onion, chopped
- 250 g Chestnut mushrooms Chopped
- 10 g Dried Shitake mushrooms
- 100 g Cashew nuts Raw & unsalted
- 1 clove Garlic Peeled, but whole
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Tomato puree
- 300 ml Boiling water
- 4 tsp Truffle oil Good quality, such as Truffle Hunter.
- 2 – 3 tsp Truffle oil (to serve) To drizzle over the canapes
For the crostini
- 2 each Bake in the oven baguette
- 4 tbsp Light olive oil
- Small bunch Flatleaf parsley or rocket To serve
Instructions
For the Faux Gras
- Add the onions and the light olive oil to a frying pan and cook for five minutes on a medium-high heat.
- Place the dried Shitake mushrooms, cashew nuts, garlic clove, salt, tomato puree and hot water in a sauce pan and boil for 10 minutes, when most of the liquid should have been absorbed by the nuts and mushrooms.
- Add the chestnut mushrooms to the onions in your frying pan and cook until the onions and mushrooms are soft and browning.
- Add the contents of the sauce pan to the frying pan and fry together until the cashew nuts start to brown. This should remove any excess moisture and will stop the final pate being sloppy.
- Place all of the ingredients from the frying pan into the food processor with 4 tsp of truffle oil and blend to your desired consistency. You may need to occasionally scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all of the mixture is being blended. I like to blend on and off for about 5 minutes as I like a fairly smooth texture. Blend for less time if you prefer a chunkier pate. Taste and season with salt an pepper, if needed.
For the crostini
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4.
- Slice the baguette on the diagonal into 3/4 cm slices. Try to get them as even in thickness as possible so that they all cook at the same time.
- Lay the slices of bread on a baking sheet, brush the tops with oil and season with freshly ground salt and pepper.
- Bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes. When cooked, the edges should be golden and the crostini should have a good crunch (but not so much that it breaks your teeth).
Assembly
- Put the pate onto the crostini using your preferred method (this could be making quenelle shapes with two teaspoons or piping the mixture on). Arrange on your serving plate.
- Drizzle with a little truffle oil and serve with a token amount of flat parsley or rocket on top and a scattering of cashews to show the dish contains nuts.
Notes
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I love the mushroom faux gras. It is absolutely delicious.
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