I came up with this recipe for a contest last fall. I had some porcini and a piece of pumpkin and wanted to create something unusual. Besides, I didn’t want to use puff pastry because it’s too fat and greasy and it could have spoiled the flavors of this preparation. So I grab some flour, water and a little shortening ad create this amazingly crispy pastry with a delicate taste that was the perfect pair for this type of filling.
I must admit, it was hard to recreate the same texture, but finally I managed to find the perfect list of ingredients! And don’t worry.. this is so easy every one could try it.
Ingredients
- 70gr of butter (50g for the dough, 20g more for the folds)
- 120gr of plain flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of baking powder
- 200gr of pumpkin or pumpkin purée
- 5gr of dried porcini mushrooms
- rosemary and garlic
- salt and pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
Method
Step 1
Soak the dried porcini into lukewarm water for at least 30 minutes. While waiting, combine 50gr of butter with 100gr of flour, the baking powder and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Mix the ingredients until you get a crumbly dough. Add 4 tablespoon of water and keep kneading. The dough must be smooth and a little sticky. If it becomes too sticky, add the rest of the four. The dough must be very elastic and very soft.
Step 2
Flatten the dough into a rectangle 1cm thick with a rolling pin, on a pastry board dusted with four. Spread the pastry evenly with half of the remaining butter. Fold the bottom third of the rectangle up toward the centre, aligning the edges. Then fold the top third down. Flatten again the dough and spread the rest of the butter. Fold again two times more. Let the dough sit in the fridge, covered with a plastic wrap until the filling is ready.
Step 3
Cut the pumpkin into 0,5cm cubes and stir fry it on a pan with a tablespoon of oil, a crushed garlic and some rosemary. When golden brown, add some water, salt and pepper and let it cook for about 10 minutes.
If you are using pumpkin puree, mix it in a bowl with some dried garlic powder and dried rosemary.
Cut the porcini into small pieces and add them to the pumpkin. Let it cook for five more minutes the add the milk, check the saltiness and turn off the heat.
Step 4
Flatten the pastry with a rolling pin and cut discs a little bigger that the holes of a muffin pan. Put the discs in the pan and fill them with the pumpkin and porcini mixture. Cut the remaining pastry into stripes to decorate the little basket.
Step 5
Bake the baskets at 200°C (390°F) for about 30 minutes. Serve warm or cold.
