Mushroom tart with chanterelles and miso barley caramel

5.00

These beautiful little vegan mushroom tartlets from Rishim Sachdeva are the perfect vegan starter. They’re made with several different types of mushroom - oyster, button, chanterelle - and the filling is infused with a touch of barley caramel, for a subtle sweetness. To enhance the mushrooms’ flavour, Rishim has also used Lee Kum Kee’s Premium Mushroom Seasoning Powder to enhance the depth of each element. You can also use leek oil, instead of rapeseed oil. This makes 8-10 tartlets, but each one needs to be par-baked with another tartlet tin on top. If you don't have enough tart tins you can do this in batches.

First published in 2025

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Tart dough

Barley caramel

Mushroom ragout

Tofu filling

Mushroom parfait

Buttered chanterelles

Garnish

  • rapeseed oil
  • micro shoots, to garnish

Equipment

  • 6cm tart tins

Method

1

For the tart dough, whisk together the flour, sugar, mushroom powder and salt

2

Add the butter to the bowl with the dry ingredients and toss, separating the pieces and coating them in the flour mixture. Use your fingertips to quickly break and smash the pieces of butter into smaller pieces. It’s okay if some of the butter is left in large pieces; you’ll break it up more in the next step

  • 90g of vegan butter, very cold, cut into thin, 2 × 2 cm squares
3

Make a well in the centre of the bowl and add half of the ice water. Toss with a fork to distribute the water until you have a clumpy mixture with lots of dry spots. Switch to a knife and chop into the mixture, distributing the water and cutting down the pieces of butter further, until you have pieces no larger than a pea

  • 1 1/2 tbsp of iced water
4

Push the mixture together into a pile and squeeze it with your hands so it holds together in large pieces. If you still have some dry floury areas, move the large pieces of dough to one side, leaving the dry bits in the pile

5

Drizzle the remaining ice water over the floury area, then use the knife in the same chopping motion to evenly distribute the water. Squeeze the dough to bring it together

  • 1 1/2 tbsp of iced water
6

Repeat with more ice water as needed until no dry flour remains

7

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured bench. Pat the dough into a square, then use a floured rolling pin to flatten the square until it’s 2 cm thick

8

Wrap tightly in cling film, and lightly roll the package with the rolling pin to force dough into the edges and corners. This will help evenly hydrate the dough as it rests

9

Chill for 1–2 hours, until rested and firm

10

For the barley caramel, first heat up enough oil to deep-fry the barley. You’ll need the oil to be very hot – about 200°C – so keep a close eye on it and use a high-sided, stable pot

  • vegetable oil, for deep-frying
11

Fry the barley until it has very slightly puffed and cracked and is soft. Transfer to a paper towel-lined tray with a slotted spoon to drain, then sprinkle with some mushroom powder while hot

  • 50g of barley
12

Once cool, discard any grains that haven’t puffed

13

Next, carefully heat the sugar, butter and a touch of water in a pan until the sugar caramelises and turns golden, swirling as needed so the sugar cooks evenly. Uses a heavy-bottomed saucepan, and be careful as the caramel will be very hot

14

Stir the seasoned barley and mushroom powder into the caramel then set aside

15

For the mushroom ragout, first clean the oyster mushrooms and tear them into pieces

16

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the shallots and garlic

17

Add the torn oyster mushrooms to the pot. Sauté for about 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to brown slightly

18

Stir in the plum tomatoes, herbs, smoked paprika and salt and pepper

19

Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for 30 mins, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the mushrooms are tender

20

Add in the balsamic vinegar, and a splash of vegetable stock as needed to loosen the sauce

  • 10g of balsamic vinegar
  • vegetable stock, as needed, to thin
21

For the tofu filling, blend the silken tofu, smoked paprika, soy milk, cornflour and mushroom seasoning powder together in a food processor until very smooth. Stir in the mushroom ragout and caramel

22

For the parfait, heat the oil and butter in a large pot over high heat

23

Add the button mushrooms and cook for about 8–10 minutes until browned, then season with mushroom powder

24

Stir in the miso paste and vegetable stock. Mix well to dissolve the miso paste into the liquid

25

Cook down until the liquid has reduced to a syrup-like consistency

26

Purée the mixture, and then and add more melted butter if needed for everything to emulsify together

27

Roll the dough out until it’s 2–3 mm thick. Cut out a circle that’s slightly larger than your tartlet tins. Press very firmly into the base and sides of each tin, making sure it’s pushed into every nook and cranny

28

Trim off any excess and dock all over the base with a fork

29

Chill in the freezer or blast chiller for at least 30 minutes

30

Preheat the oven to 175°C

31

Line the tarts with baking paper and top with another tartlet tin

32

Bake for 7–8 minutes, then remove from oven and set aside to cool

33

Divide the tofu filling between the tartlet tins, and then bake – still at 175°C – for 5–6 minutes

34

To make the buttered chanterelles, first carefully peel the yellow skin from their stems with a sharp paring knife

35

Cook the chanterelles in a pan with butter until tender and just slightly coloured

36

To serve the tartlets, top each one with a spoonful of mushroom parfait and a few dots of rapeseed oil

  • rapeseed oil
37

Garnish each tart with some buttered chanterelles and sprouts, and then serve

  • micro shoots, to garnish

Brought to you by

After years spent in modern European kitchens, in 2019 Rishim Sachdeva decided to start cooking plant-based food – and he hasn’t looked back since.

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