Caren Benjamin Caren Benjamin

Leek and Mushroom Pie

It’s harder than it should be to find puff pastry or phyllo dough in my life. Trader Joe’s - the most convenient option - for its traditional unfathomable reason, sells it sporadically. The Safeway near me is its own particular sort of hell. Whole Foods sells some $45 approximation of puff pastry, but it is really the kind you use to make dessert. I’m exaggerating the price, but only slightly. Also it’s insanely hard to find in any of these stores. For all these reasons, when I see frozen phyllo, I tend to buy a lot. Then at some point I open my freezer and there it is, awaiting greatness. This recipe grew from what was in my vegetable drawer when that moment occurred. It is endlessly adaptable. 

Ingredients:

Leeks - as many as you think you want to eat cut into half inch or so rounds. 

Mushrooms - same. I would say anything but white mushrooms, which I just really don’t like that much. 

Heat two saucepans, one with a lid and with a pretty heavy coating of olive oil, one with a ton of butter, no lid.

Put the mushrooms in the butter, turn it to medium and cook them until they are almost frizzled. If you are using a lot of mushrooms, you may have to do this in mushroom shifts, as the little buggers spit out a lot of water and you want to fry, not boil them. 

Salt them, a lot. Pre frizzle when they look like they are about to start drying out, pour in sherry and cook until it’s almost absorbed into the mushrooms. 

In the other sauce pan, the one with the lid, put the leeks and a few spoonfuls of mustard, which you should mix around with the hot olive oil. Cover and cook on low or medium low, until leeks are really soft and mustardy. 

From here it’s flexible. 

If you have other stuff in your fridge try adding it - cheese, for sure. Other roasted vegetables. Leftover chicken, whatever. 

Cover with another piece of puff pastry and cover until the puff pastry is baked - about 11 minutes at 350 in my oven. 

It all begins with an idea.

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