M&S recipe inspiration
Potato, porcini and Comté pithivier with a beurre blanc and spring vegetables
To get ahead, you can assemble the pithivier a few hours ahead. Once it’s assembled, chill and then bake when you are ready to serve.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 30g M&S dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 M&S Maris Piper potatoes, peeled
- 2 x 500ml M&S vegetable stock
- 100g M&S salted butter
- 2 M&S shallots, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp M&S cut thyme leaves
- 4 cloves M&S garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 25g M&S cut flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp M&S olive oil
- 150g M&S chestnut mushroom, finely chopped
- 30g M&S Comté cheese
- 500g M&S all-butter puff pastry
- 2 M&S eggs, yolks only, beaten
For the beurre blanc
- 1 tbsp M&S white wine vinegar
- 50ml M&S white wine
- 100g M&S unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- 1 tbsp M&S double cream
- 1 tsp juice from an M&S lemon
For the garnish
- 2 tbsp M&S unsalted butter
- 2 M&S leeks, finely sliced
- 200g M&S petits pois
- 100g M&S frozen broad beans, de-podded
- 180g pack M&S asparagus spears
- juice of half M&S lemon
- 100g M&S pea shoots
Method
- For the filling: Place the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over from the kettle.
- Cut the potatoes into 1cm slices, then use a 6cm pastry cutter to cut each slice into rounds - you will need 24 slices (add the leftover pieces to homemade soup if you like).
- Pour the stock into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the potato slices and cook for 5 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain well and leave to cool.
- Melt 2 tbsp of the butter in a small frying pan, add the shallot, thyme leaves and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the parsley and some seasoning, transfer to a bowl and cover. Chill.
- Drain and finely chop the porcini mushrooms. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan, add the porcini and chestnut mushrooms, season well and sauté until all the liquid has evaporated and they are dry. Add the remaining butter and cook until the mushrooms are caramelised and golden brown. Tip into a bowl, cover and chill.
- Now build the pithivier filling. Place a 6cm pastry or chef’s ring on a square of baking parchment. Add a potato disc, a little of the shallot/garlic mixture, 1 tbsp grated Comté and 1 tbsp mushroom mixture, then repeat these layers using 6 discs of potatoes in total. Press down firmly. Repeat this layering process again in three more pastry/chef rings. Chill.
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan and place a baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up.
- Roll out the puff pastry to a 3-4mm thickness, then cut out four 9cm pastry rounds and four 12cm rounds. Put the 9cm pastry circles onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
- Place one ring of filling on each pastry disc, then remove the ring. Brush egg yolk around the edge of the stack of filling. Place another 12cm pastry disc over the top of the filling, then smooth the pastry down the sides of the stacks, squeezing out the air as you go and closing it at the bottom. Crimp the base to seal the two pieces of pastry and brush egg yolk all over. Repeat with the remaining fillings.
- Cut a small hole in the top of the pastry to release steam as it cooks. Using a 7cm cutter, trim away the excess pastry from the base, leaving a small lip. Brush the pastries with the egg yolk again and season. Score the domes of the pithiviers for decoration and put them on baking paper on the hot baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- While the pithivier are cooking, make the sauce. Heat the vinegar and white wine in a small pan and reduce until there is 1 tbsp of liquid left. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cold butter, one piece at a time, making sure each piece of butter is completely melted before adding the next. Place back over a gentle heat if the sauce gets too cool. Stir in the double cream and lemon juice and season to taste.
- To make the garnish, you can use same pan that you cooked the mushrooms in. Melt half the butter and add the leeks. Sauté for a few minutes then add the peas, broad beans and a splash of water. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water and add to the pan with the remaining butter, lemon juice and some seasoning.
- To serve, use the vibrant green garnish to make a decorative circle on the plate and drizzle over the beurre blanc. Place the pithivier into the centre of the circle, and garnish with pea shoots.
