Earthy mushrooms and brie combine for a moreish vegetarian main, while crunchy walnuts and a dash of sherry bring a touch of festive cheer to the table.
Packed with umami mushrooms, melting brie and crunchy walnuts, this golden puff pastry makes for a sophisticated vegetarian centrepiece this Christmas. Pair with seasonal steamed vegetables (such as Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and broccoli) with a hearty dollop of homemade cranberry sauce.
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Yields:
8 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs
Cal/Serv:
492
Ingredients
25g
butter
4
banana shallots, thinly sliced
2Tbsp.
olive oil
900g
mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped (we used portabellini, shittake and chestnut mushrooms)
3
large garlic cloves, crushed
11/2Tbsp.
fresh thyme leaves
100g
walnuts, chopped
3Tbsp.
dry sherry
6Tbsp.
single cream
150g
vegetarian brie, cut in to
2cm (¾in) pieces
Plain flour, to dust
500g
all-butter puff pastry
1
medium egg, beaten
Directions
Step 1
Melt half the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 7-8min, until soft and just golden, and then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour a little oil into the pan and increase the heat, add the mushrooms and fry for 8-10min (this will need to be done in batches, adding a dash of oil each time) until golden. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the remaining butter, garlic, thyme, walnuts, sherry and cream to the final batch of mushrooms, continue cooking for 2min. Return the shallots and the rest of the mushrooms to the pan, season well, stir in half of the Brie and set aside to cool.
Step 2
Lightly flour a work surface and roll out a third of the pastry to 3mm thick. Cut out a 25.5cm pastry circle and put on a baking tray. Spoon half the cooled mushroom mixture into the centre of the pastry, leaving a 3cm border of pastry around the edge. Top with the remaining Brie, and then the remaining mushroom mixture. Brush the pastry border with egg.
Step 3
Roll out remaining pastry to 3mm thick and cut out a 28cm circle. Lay over filling and smooth down to get rid of any air bubbles. Press down firmly on the edges to seal; trim into a neat circle (using base circle as a guide). Crimp the edges. Brush top with beaten egg and chill for at least 1hr.
Step 4
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Remove pithivier from the fridge and brush the chilled pastry with a little more egg, then, using a sharp knife, decorate the top by scoring curved lines from the centre to the edge of the pastry, bake for 30-35min, until golden and puffed.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
