Parmesan and herb gougères
Another way to enjoy that delicious mushroom, ricotta and pistachio filling is to serve it in these tasty gougères, which are flavoured with sage, thyme and nutmeg. Cut them in half to layer with filling or pipe the filling directly into their airy centres. Top with a dollop of crème fraîche and more pistachios.
Ingredients
Mushroom ricotta and pistachio filling
- 1 cup duxelles
- ⅔ cup extra smooth ricotta
- ¼ cup Parmesan or Grana Padano, grated
- 2 ounces soft goat cheese
- 2 teaspoons sage, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup lightly salted pistachios, shelled
Gougères
- ½ cup water
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, cold
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup flour
- 1 tablespoon herbs, a mixture of sage and thyme
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup Parmesan or Grana Padano
Instructions
Mushroom ricotta and pistachio filling
- In a bowl, combine duxelles, ricotta, Grana Padano, goat cheese, sage and salt.
- Place pistachios in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fine. Add the pistachios to the remaining ingredients, mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.
Gougères
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Place water, butter, salt and herbs in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Immediately add the flour, stir rapidly to incorporate and remove from the heat. Turn off the burner as you stir to incorporate all the flour, then place it back on the warm burner.
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer and allow it to cool for 2 minutes. Mix on high speed, adding 1 egg at a time and waiting until each egg is fully incorporated. Pause after two eggs and check the dough. You should be able to press into it with your finger and leave a trough. If not, add another egg and continue beating. Add the Parmesan cheese and blend until it is fully incorporated. Dough is ready when it hangs in a V shape from the raised beater.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and pipe small mounds (about 30 in total) onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Transfer to a hot oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and the surface is dry.
- Remove from the oven, poke the underside of each gougère with a toothpick and allow to cool.
- Once cool, fill with the mushroom, ricotta and pistachio filling by either piping it directly into the gougère using a sharp pastry tip or cutting the gougère in half and piping a small mound on the bottom side. Place the other piece on top and add a dollop of crème fraîche. Sprinkle with a few crushed pistachios and some fresh thyme.
