This wild mushroom bruschetta is full of flavors I love but had never thought to put them all on a baguette. This is really delicious as is, the way Chef Boudouin makes it, but it’s also very versatile, with easy to sub ingredients (for less expensive ones.)
Wild mushrooms can be expensive and sometimes hard to find. If you’re on a budget, you can simply use button mushrooms instead. Or you can use a mix of mostly button mushrooms and add a few wild ones for added flavor. I’m making a version of this for our Thanksgiving dinner, which I’ll serve as appetizers, using a mix of button, cremini, and portabella mushrooms (all easily found at the grocery store and not that expensive.)
*You never want to wash mushrooms with water! This will give your mushrooms a rubbery texture. To clean, gently wipe the dirt off with a paper towel.
Other substitutions you can make to make this more budget friendly…use regular bacon instead of Applewood Smoked Bacon and skip the truffle oil. I will say, if you can afford to buy truffle oil, it’s really worth the investment. It doesn’t take a large amount of truffle oil for a big punch of flavor. I’ve had my bottle of truffle oil for a year now and it’s still half-full.
You can buy garlic puree or simply make your own, which is so much cheaper.
To roast garlic –
Peel away the papery white outer layer that covers the bulb. Leave the individual covering on each clove and leave the clove attached to the root. Cut a bit off the end of the head. Drizzle oil over the clove and wrap in foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. When the garlic is cool enough to handle, you can squeeze the uncut end of the head and the garlic will come right out, in a paste-like form.
Chef topped the bruschetta with poached eggs and served this on 4 slices of baguette for 4 individual servings. What I’m going to do, to turn this into a larger amount of appetizers is to slice up a baguette into thin slices, which should yield at least 20 slices. I’ll lightly toast the slices in the oven, drizzle a bit of olive oil over the slices and then top them with the mushroom mixture.
WILD MUSHROOM BRUSCHETTA –
(4 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms
- 1/2 pound porcini mushrooms
- 1/2 pound oyster mushrooms
- 1/2 pound chanterelles
- 1 tablespoon (1 or 2 slices) applewood smoked bacon
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 whole shallot finely diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic puree
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon truffle oil (optional)
- 4 inch slices of French baguette
- salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Clean mushrooms and remove mushroom stems, reserve the stems for a later use. Dice the smoked bacon into 1/4 inch squares. Clean spinach. To poach the eggs, fill a sauté pan half way with water and a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a simmer and crack eggs into the water. One trick is to take a spoon and create a spiral motion in the water, this will compact your eggs and make them aesthetically pleasing.
Toast the baguette slices. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Place the smoked bacon and mushrooms in the sauté pan and lower the heat immediately or the mushrooms will take on a burnt bitter flavor. Saute for two minutes and add the shallots and garlic. Be sure to constantly move the pan to avoid any burning. Add the spinach and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
For plating, place the baguette slice in the center of the plate, drape the mushroom and spinach mixture over the slice, leaving some bread exposed. Place the poached egg on top of the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle some truffle oil over the plate before serving for maximum effect.