Do you remember our easy Apple Tart? Well, think the same idea, but savoury. Introducing my mushroom tart recipe – call it “Tarte Fine aux Champignons” in French if you feel fancy! Flaky puff pastry topped with melted Gruyère, sautéed mushrooms and baked until crispy and golden. Let’s go!
Nagi's Notes
I feel like French food has a reputation for being time consuming and complicated. But for homestyle dishes, it usually isn’t. More often than not, it’s about a couple of hero ingredients making a dish shine – and this Mushroom Tart is exactly that. Just 4 ingredients – puff pastry, mushroom, cheese and butter, Simple and ridiculously good!
A Simple French Mushroom Tart
This is something I used to whip up back home when we needed a quick lunch or dinner that made everyone happy. Crispy and flaky butter puff pastry layered with melting cheese and sautéed mushrooms, all baked to perfection – Tarte Fine aux Champignons as we call it. What could go wrong!?
To enjoy it at its best, finish it with a sprinkle of salt flakes and fresh thyme leaves. A drizzle of truffle oil will bring it to another level if you have some. You’ll be surprised by the work-to-reward ratio here. A true winner!
Ingredients
Here is what you need to make this Tarte Fine aux Champignons. Please do your best to get a puff pastry made with butter rather than oil. Butter beats oil everyday when it comes to flavour. Take it from a Frenchman!
Frozen puff pastry – As I say above, butter is better! Butter puff rises more beautifully and gives you more delicate flaky layers and importantly, it has better flavour. Look for a packet that clearly says, “butter puff pastry.” If it doesn’t mention butter, it usually means it’s made with oil instead, which is still ok to use but won’t have the same flavour.
Size – This recipe calls for a 25cm / 10″ square of puff pastry which is the standard size here in Australia. If your sheet is larger, simply trim it to size. If you only have smaller pieces, press the offcuts together to form one larger sheet.
Swiss brown mushrooms – Also called cremini mushrooms in some countries. They have more flavour than white cup / button mushrooms, though they will work fine too. You could also use larger mushrooms like portobello, just slice them up into smaller pieces.
Gruyère cheese – My logical pick for this recipe because I used it so much in France. Gruyère is a staple cheese in France like cheddar and tasty cheese here in Australia. It’s a firm Swiss-style cheese with a nutty flavour that melts beautifully and has a rich flavour that doesn’t overpower the mushrooms.
Other cheese options – Comté would elevate it even more if it’s reasonably priced where you are but it is expensive here in Australia which is why I don’t use it. Swiss cheese / Emmental would be my next choice. Otherwise, use any good melting cheese you enjoy such as mild Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby or Tasty.
Unsalted butter – Adds flavour to the mushrooms and is also brushed on the pastry edges to help them turn golden.
Cooking salt / kosher salt – Used to season the mushrooms. If you’ve only got table salt, halve the amount. For salt flakes, increase by 50%. (We also use some salt flakes at the end as a lovely touch to finish the dish.)
Black pepper – Cracked black pepper, the one we usually use.
Thyme leaves – Thyme and mushrooms are a classic pairing. I like it best sprinkled at the end rather than cooked in the mushrooms because you get a better flavour for this dish.
Truffle oil or extra virgin olive oil – If you happen to have truffle oil, this a great opportunity to use it because it goes so well with mushrooms and adds a really gourmet touch to it. A small drizzle is enough to deliver a big impact and elevate the dish. I know it’s a bit pricey so I wouldn’t go and get it especially. You can always use a good extra virgin olive oil instead.
How To Make Mushroom and Gruyère Tart
This tart comes together in three simple steps: cook the mushrooms, assemble the tart, then bake until the pastry is crisp and golden. There is an actual fourth step “Eat it!” but I didn’t bother writing it down because the moment you see it come out of the oven, you’ll understand.
Preheat the oven and tray – Place a baking tray in the oven and preheat to 210°C / 410°F (190°C fan). Starting the tart on a hot tray helps the pastry cook immediately and become crisp underneath.
Cook the mushrooms – Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the mushrooms soften.
Transfer to a colander over a bowl to drain. When testing this recipe, my mushrooms didn’t release much liquid. Draining them is mostly a safety step, just in case they do because this would soften the puff pastry.
Edges – Place a sheet of baking / parchment paper on the bench and lay the puff pastry on top. Fold the edges inward to create a 1 cm / 0.4″ border around the pastry. No need to use egg or anything to hold in place.
Brush the pastry edges with melted butter.
Cheese – Spread the grated Gruyère evenly over the pastry. Mostly avoiding the rim.
Mushrooms – Top with the cooked mushrooms, spreading them evenly too.
Bake – Lift the baking paper and tart onto the hot tray. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden, puffed and crisp, including underneath.
Finish – Sprinkle the tart with fresh thyme leaves and salt flakes. Drizzle with truffle oil or extra virgin olive oil.
Serve – Cut into 4 or 6 pieces or more if you want smaller. Enjoy while hot!
How To Serve Mushroom and Gruyère Tart
Serve the tart warm, straight from the oven. For a lovely French meal, add a French Bistro Salad or my Baby Gem Salad that we shared last week. It also pairs well with other fresh salads like our Favourite Tomato Salad, the Garden Salad, a Mega Italian Salad or more classic like a Rocket with Balsamic Dressing.
It would also work great cut it into small squares and passed around as an appetiser or canapés.
That’s it for this one! If you make it, please let me know how it goes. I always enjoy reading your feedback or seeing your versions. Bon appétit! – JB
FAQ – Mushroom and Gruyère Tart
Yes. Assemble the tart and keep it in the fridge on a tray. Make sure the mushrooms are fully cooled before assembling and keep the pastry cold so it puffs properly. Bake straight from the fridge on a preheated hot tray. I haven’t tried to assemble, freeze and cook. But please let me know if you do!
See ingredients list above. ☝️😊
Yes, if they have a similar shape and structure to Swiss brown mushrooms. White cup / button mushrooms or portobello work well because they slice neatly and sit flat on the pastry.
Avoid other mushrooms with irregular shapes. They don’t layer evenly, so you won’t get a consistent topping, and they don’t give the same texture once baked on a flat tart like this.
Yes. Reheat at 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced) for about 10 minutes until the pastry crips again.
Watch How to Make It
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JB’s Mushroom Tart
Ingredients
- 1 square sheet butter puff pastry (25cm / 10″ square), barely thawed (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp (30g) unsalted butter
- 400g / 14oz Swiss brown mushrooms , sliced 0.5cm (Note 3)
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt , use half for table salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups (tightly packed) Gruyère cheese , grated (Note 2)
- 2 tsp (10g) unsalted butter , melted (for brushing)
Toppings
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 pinch sea salt flakes
- truffle oil or good extra virgin olive oil , to drizzle (optional) (Note 4)
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
- Sauté mushrooms 5 minutes. Place puff pastry on baking paper, fold a 1 cm / 0.4" border, brush edges with butter, top with Gruyère and mushrooms. Bake on the preheated tray for 30 minutes. Finish with fresh thyme, salt flakes and truffle oil.
FULL RECIPE
- Hot tray – Place a baking tray in the oven. Turn the oven on and preheat to 210°C / 410°F (190°C fan).
- Cook the mushrooms – Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until soft. Transfer mushrooms to a colander over a bowl to drain in case of excess liquid.
- Prepare the base – Place a sheet of baking paper / parchment paper on the bench. Put the puff pastry on top. Fold the edges inwards to create a 1 cm / 0.4″ border and brush them with melted butter.
- Assemble – Spread the grated Gruyère evenly over the pastry. Top with the mushrooms, spreading them evenly too.
- Bake – Lift the baking paper and tart onto the hot tray in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden and crisp (sides and underneath).
- Finish and serve – Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and salt flakes. Drizzle with truffle oil or a good virgin olive oil (optional but highly recommended). Cut and serve hot.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Remembering Dozer
This photo takes me back to the early days at the old HQ, helping Nagi shooting recipes for the first cookbook “Dinner”. The studio downstairs was being renovated so we had to make do with what we had, I am sure you’ll appreciate the garbage bags taped on the window! And Dozer, of course, right where he believed he should be. Sitting between my legs, convinced he wasn’t taking up any space at all. Always there, watching, making sure things were done properly, or at least in a way that involved snacks! But we all know he was a meat lover and this time I don’t think he realised we were shooting our stuffed butternut pumpkin! 😅
I know it will add a complication and extra work/time, but I’m going to make this using Nagi’s Garlic butter roasted mushrooms recipe. I’ll just trim them to suit the tart when they’re done.
Can’t wait to try it!
Yum!! Only thing I’d caution is to slice them rather than keep whole as whole ones will still have quite a bit of liquid inside which will come out when the tart is in the oven, making the base soggy. That will make JB sad 😉 – N x
This photo made me laugh 😀
Dozer definitely had his eyes on the prize 🤣🤣
He definitely did NOT realise it was pumpkin!! 🎃😂
Just made JB’s banana bread … amazing! So glad JB that you are working alongside Nagi xo
I feel very lucky to have him as part of the team!! As for his banana bread…the feedback is astounding. I can’t believe how many people have made it already!!! Incredible!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Will we get the same results cooking it in an air fryer?
We haven’t tried unfortunately Kelly, sorry!! Love to know if you get a chance to give it a go – N x
Can I get an approximate weight for the cheese?
Hi Sandy! If you toggle to “METRIC” at the top of the ingredients it will show you the weights – it’s 150g of cheese 🙂 – N xx
Oh JB, I am so looking forward to making this! It sounds stunning – thank-you.
As for the gorgeous photo of you and Dozer – well, he was the boss!
It was so funny walking into the shoot room and seeing them like that! 🙂
Looks great JB! Can’t wait to try!
Hope you get a chance to! I ate soooo much of it, it’s so good!
JB this looks absolutely delicious and I just can’t wait to try it. Lovely photo memory of Dozer too. Thanks for sharing.
I remember walking in and seeing them in that position, I laughed out loud!
Hi and thank you JB. Butter, cheese and Mushrooms – what more can I ask for. I am salivating already. What a lovely memory of Dozer.
Good weekend to you JB and hi to Nagi San.
Sure fire combo, right??!! 🙂
Oh my goodness! Am going to splurge on truffle oil (anyway wanted to for a while, you convinced me). However I am a KETO follower so will have to change the pastry to a KETO buttery concoction. Will not be the same but at least the topping will be 😋
Love your mementoes on the Dozer.
Hope you get a chance to try it!! And yes, that pic of Dozer and JB was pretty funny, I remember taking it! – N x
I love mushrooms, I will be doing this mushroom tart as one of the dishes I will serve Easter Sunday (hoping to find some truffle oil somewhere). Thanks for the recipe JB, love the photo with you and Dozer!
Truffle oil is Easter Sunday worthy, as is this tart! 🙂 I use this one from Harris Farms which is currently on special for $11 down from $17. Because it is used so sparingly, it lasts for a good year! I pretty much only use it on things that hero mushrooms, to bring out the flavour 🙂 Truffle oil is also sold at Coles and Woolworths though I haven’t tried those (the Cobram Estate one I did get once but it wasn’t so great, sadly), but I really like to get little bottles from markets when I get a chance to taste test it. That way you really know what you’re getting! – N x
I can’t find this recipe on your website – does it take a while to appear after coming thru on email? – just trying to put it in my ‘like’ section
Hi Ruby! Recipes get published on the website 5 minutes before the email goes out so it’s definitely here! You have left a comment on it – can you not see the recipe above? I wonder if it is having trouble loading. Can you hit refresh and check again? – N x
Looks delicious, my toddler has already requested it. Thank you for making French food feel approachable and a lot less daunting.
Your toddler has great taste!! 🙂 Hope he / she enjoys it! – N xx
I love mushrooms and always buy too many lol (swiss brown is my fave). Was just wondering how to use them up… and here it is! Magnifique! Thank you Chef JB can’t wait to try it (soon!)
Perfect!! Such a good way to use a LOT of mushrooms too 🙂 Hope you do try it! – N x
Definitely going to try this – but I will add some garlic to the mushrooms. And I’m not even French. 😁. Gruyère and Comté equally expensive with us, but Comté my absolute favourite. It even goes on pizza…
Comté is my favourite hard cheese!!! Every now and then I’ll treat myself to 24 month aged….it’s my absolute favourite. The crystal crunch is everything!! 🙂 – N x
❤️
LOVE the photo!! Really brought a smile.
Love the recipe too. I have been wanting to make a mushroom tart like this ever since I had it at a restaurant many many years ago. The tip of the hot tray is something new for me. Thank you
Hot tray makes such a difference, especially when the tart is loaded with juicy things like mushrooms or apples 🙂 – N x
Am a passionate mushroom lover and your creation, served just with that salad, looks like perfection personified! Simple ingredients simply cooked! The latter have to be just right for it to turn out like that. The gorgeous photo > hmm, you could not simply have clicked from a kneeling position and chosen height . . .oh, of course, Dozer had to help and supervise 🙂 !
Sometimes it was like playing Twister with Dozer around!! 😂 We wouldn’t dare shove him out of the way, just work around it – everyone in the team knew that was the rule 😂
Hmm – and now I bet he’s bra- telling them upstairs how he always was the boss downstairs and doesn’t know how you’ll manage . . . and everyone will grin . . . enjoy the weekend, all of you 🙂 !
This looks so delicious. Also, love the tip of preheating the tray first 😀 Nice to add some meat free options to the repertoire 😉. Lovely memory of Dozer too. Was laughing as we imagine creating a book or blog is so glamourous. Thanks for showing a shot from ‘behind the scenes’ and keeping it real. Love everything you guys do ☺️
He he what we do is so far from glamorous!! 😂 Preheating the tray works wonders, great little trick I learned from JB! – N x
JB you’ve done it again 👌 – hang on that saying sounds familiar 🤣 ……….Dozer really wanted that pumpkin he’s saying nah I’m vegan mum I bet he got some in the end 🧡💛
😂 Dozer REALLY didn’t realise it was a giant vegan dish!!
I’m sure the recipe is great… Delicious… Etc. But Dozer, eh xx😅
Ha! You know I secretly love it. Dozer for the win!! 😂