Laura Smith
Mushroom Napoleon is a dish that has been described as elegant and delicious. It is made with portobello mushrooms, goat cheese, tomatoes, and potato crisps or puff pastry. The mushrooms are baked in the oven and then layered with the other ingredients to create a stack of rich, meaty flavors. The dish can be served as a vegan or vegetarian main course, or as a side dish alongside grilled steak. One variation includes turnips and a ginger-soy-mirin sauce.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type | Savory dish |
| Main ingredients | Mushrooms, potato, goat cheese, tomatoes, asparagus, onion, wine, vinegar |
| Cuisine | French |
| Servings | 2-4 |
| Preparation time | 5-10 minutes |
| Cook time | 5 minutes-1 hour |
| Variations | Portobello mushroom, wild mushroom, turnip, ginger-soy-mirin sauce |
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What You'll Learn
Mushroom Napoleon recipe ingredients
A Mushroom Napoleon is a dish that can be made in several ways, with either wild mushrooms or portobello mushrooms. The dish can be made vegan by substituting butter with Earth Balance.
Wild Mushroom Napoleon Ingredients:
- Potato
- Olive oil
- Asparagus
- Mushrooms
- Port wine
- Vinegar
- Butter
Portobello Mushroom Napoleon Ingredients:
- Portobello mushrooms
- Red onion
- Reduced-fat red wine vinaigrette
- Tomatoes
- Basil leaves
- Goat cheese
- Thyme
- Salt and pepper
- Maple balsamic dressing
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How to prepare the sauce
To prepare the sauce for a mushroom napoleon, you will need port wine, vinegar, and butter. You can also add corn starch to thicken the sauce.
First, place the same saute pan you cooked the mushrooms in over high heat. Add the port wine and vinegar and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow the mixture to simmer until it has reduced by half, which should take about four minutes. You should now have approximately 1/4 cup of port wine reduction.
Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to your preference. Keep the sauce warm until you are ready to serve.
For a ginger-soy-mirin sauce, add mirin, stock, soy sauce, and the accumulated juices from the roasted mushrooms. Whisk in butter and, if needed, add a tablespoon of corn starch slurry to thicken the sauce.
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How to assemble a Mushroom Napoleon
A Mushroom Napoleon is an elegant dish with rich, meaty layers. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to assemble a Mushroom Napoleon:
Prepare the ingredients
Firstly, gather and prepare all the ingredients. For a traditional Mushroom Napoleon, you will need puff pastry. For a non-traditional take, you can use potato crisps instead of puff pastry. You will also need mushrooms, which can be wild mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, or any other variety of your choice.
Prepare the sauce
To make the sauce, use a pan to cook the mushrooms. Then, add port wine and vinegar to the same pan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the mixture by half to obtain a wine reduction. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Taste and adjust the seasoning according to your preference.
Assemble the layers
Now, it's time to assemble the layers of your Mushroom Napoleon. If using puff pastry, cut it into thin slices. If using potato crisps, prepare them by thinly slicing potatoes, coating them with olive oil, baking them, and seasoning with salt. Place the first layer of pastry or potato crisp on a warm plate. Add a layer of mushrooms, followed by another layer of pastry or potato crisp. Repeat this process until you have reached your desired number of layers, ending with a layer of pastry or potato.
Finish with toppings and sauce
Top the final layer of your Mushroom Napoleon with toppings of your choice. Some options include asparagus, tomatoes, goat cheese, or basil leaves. Finally, drizzle the port wine reduction sauce over the assembled Napoleon.
Your Mushroom Napoleon is now ready to be served! This dish is a unique and elegant way to showcase the meaty texture and rich flavour of mushrooms. Enjoy!
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The history of mushrooms in food
Mushrooms have been used as food, medicine, and spiritual aids for centuries. Many European, Asian, and South American countries have used mushrooms as food for hundreds, even thousands, of years. In Europe, wild mushrooms such as porcinis, chanterelles, and oyster mushrooms were commonly consumed. The huitlacoche fungus, which affects corn crops, has been eaten in Mexico since Aztec times due to its unique flavour. Beech mushrooms, shiitakes, and enokis are commonly used in Asian cuisine to add umami to dishes.
Mushrooms were initially a foodstuff with no particular links to any social class. They could be found on the plates of both the rich and poor. During the First Empire, mushrooms became increasingly popular. The field mushroom, or "rosé des près" in French, was already being cultivated in kitchen gardens in springtime and adapted well to the mild and constant climate of the quarries in the Paris region. In 1810, a farmer from Passy, Chambry, created a mushroom for all seasons by throwing the soil and manure from mushrooms that would not grow into the abandoned quarry at the foot of his garden.
In the late 19th century, Americans began cooking mushrooms in their kitchens, inspired by the French, who had introduced mushrooms into their haute cuisine. Clubs dedicated to foraging, identifying, and cooking various mushroom varieties began to emerge across the country. Some of the earliest American mushroom recipes include mushrooms baked on toast in cream sauce, with the mushroom baked under a glass bell that would be lifted at the dinner table to allow the eater to experience the full aroma and flavour of the mushrooms.
Today, the most commonly consumed variety of mushroom is the button mushroom or Agaricus bisporus, which makes up about 40% of the mushrooms grown worldwide. Mushrooms can be cooked in a variety of ways, including frying, braising, roasting, grilling, steaming, sautéing, or even eaten raw. They are often paired with dairy, meats, eggs, vegetables, and fresh herbs.
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Variations of Mushroom Napoleons
A mushroom napoleon is a dish with many layers stacked on top of each other. The classic mushroom napoleon consists of grilled vegetables, with portobello mushrooms as the largest and most prominent ingredient.
Potato and Wild Mushroom Napoleons
This variation uses thinly sliced wild mushrooms such as chanterelle, wood ear, shiitake, and morel, and layers them with sliced russet potatoes. The potatoes are brushed with oil and baked until golden. The mushroom filling is made by simmering stock, cream, and thyme, and then stirring in truffle oil. The dish is assembled by layering potatoes and mushrooms, ending with mushrooms on top, and garnishing with cheese and truffle slices.
Grilled Vegetable Napoleon
This variation includes grilled vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, and onion, in addition to portobello mushrooms. The vegetables are marinated and grilled, then stacked with a sauce such as pesto, cream cheese, sour cream, or a tomato-based sauce.
Portobello Napoleon
This variation likely focuses primarily on the portobello mushroom, though no specific recipe was found.
The mushroom napoleon is a versatile dish that can be adapted to include a variety of ingredients and sauces. The key element is the layering of the ingredients to create a visually stunning and elegant dish.
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Frequently asked questions
A mushroom napoleon is a dish made with mushrooms, potato crisps or puff pastry, and various vegetables and sauces.
Some recipes include asparagus, tomatoes, goat cheese, and a port wine reduction sauce. Other recipes include turnips, ginger-soy-mirin sauce, and cilantro garnish.
First, the vegetables are prepared and cooked. Then, the dish is assembled by layering the vegetables and mushrooms with the potato crisps or puff pastry. Finally, the sauce is added, and the dish is served warm.
Mushrooms have been regarded as the food of the gods throughout history. The mushroom napoleon is a non-traditional dish that likely originated from the classic French dish, Napoleon, which typically uses puff pastry.
