Three simple ingredients make up this rather impressive wreath. It’s an easy recipe but it packs plenty of wow factor and is perfect as a meal as well as party food.
Serves 6
ACTIVE TIME: 45 minutes
COOLING TIME: 20-25 minutes
COOKING TIME: 1¼ hours
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. (500 g) assorted mushrooms
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
7 oz. (200 g) baby spinach, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
7 oz. (200 g) fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons, preferably organic
Scant 1 cup (4½ oz./125 g) pine nuts
1 small handful dried cranberries (optional)
2 sheets puff pastry, measuring about 8 × 12 in. (20 × 30 cm), preferably all-butter
3½ tbsp (50 ml) whole milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
METHOD
Clean and thinly slice the mushrooms. Heat a little olive oil in a skillet, add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and cook over medium heat until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden.
Stir in the spinach and cumin seeds, followed by the goat cheese, lemon zest, pine nuts, and dried cranberries, if using. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let cool for 15–20 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut one puff pastry sheet in half lengthwise. Place the halves side by side on the baking sheet and cover each one with half the mushroom mixture, leaving a 1½-in. (4-cm) border at each end and a 1¼-in. (3-cm) border along each side.
Fold the long sides over the filling to form logs, pressing the pastry edges together to seal. Close the ends, then turn the logs over so the seams are underneath. Very carefully shape the two logs into a wreath. Relax, the difficult part is done!
Cut out leaves or flowers from the second pastry sheet. Brush them with a little water and press them gently onto the wreath. This also allows you to hide the joins where the two logs meet.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5). Whisk the milk with 1 tbsp olive oil and brush all over the wreath. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden brown. Let the wreath cool for several minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully slide it onto a large serving plate.
Extracted from My Art of Entertaining: Recipes and Tips from Miss Maggie’s Kitchen by Héloïse Brion (Flammarion, 2022). Photography © Christophe Roué 2022.
