Recipe Share: Wild Mushroom & Fennel Flatbread
WSK Newsletter No. 12
hello & welcome to wsk newsletter no.12 :)
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I hope everyone’s doing well and enjoying the slightly higher temps we’ve been having this week in New York. It was almost 50°F out today(!!), which I hadn’t realized until I went out to pick up a few ingredients for this recipe. Last night I was laying in bed wide-eyed (because I drank too much earl grey tea after dinner), trying to decide on a simple recipe for today’s newsletter. I always try to use ingredients I have at home, and I had an over abundance of wild mushrooms from the Union Square Farmers Market and left over puff pastry dough in my freezer from the last newsletter’s pop tart recipe. So, I thought what better to share than a buttery puff pastry flatbread topped with crisp wild mushrooms, fennel and herbs? You can read my notes for the recipe below, and please feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback.
Wild Mushroom & Fennel Flatbread w/ Fresh Oregano
I will first share the recipe for the pastry dough, which can be made days (or weeks) in advance. I prefer to make more dough than I need to keep in my freezer for a rainy day. I’m only using 1/4 of the dough and 1/4 of the mushroom-fennel mix this recipe yields to make 1 individual flatbread for myself. But if you’re making this for more than a couple people, you can go ahead and prep up to 4 individual sized, or one large flatbread. To speed up the process, you can pick up pre-made pastry dough or a package of flatbread from the store.
I’m calling for oregano in this recipe, but you can’t go wrong with any herb substitution. A few suggestions: thyme, rosemary, tarragon, or basil would all work nicely. I personally think there’s more than enough flavor going on so I’m not adding cheese, but sprinkle some on top if you wish.
Yields: 4 individual sized flatbreads
Ingredients for pastry dough |
2 1/2 cups (313 g) all-purpose flour
4 tsp. sugar (I like to use coconut sugar)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
1/3 cup ice water
Directions for pastry dough |
Step 1
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut up the chilled butter into small pieces, toss into the flour mixture, and mix well with a pastry cutter until the butter is well dispersed and no large chunks are left behind. (Tip: rather than cutting the butter in small chucks with a knife, you can grate it with a cheese grater. I find this method much quicker and easier!)
Step 2
Using a fork, continue mixing the flour mixture while slowly tipping in 1/3 cup ice water. Then use your hands to lightly toss the mixture to distribute water throughout until it comes together into a dough. Create 2 balls of dough and place each on a separate piece of plastic wrap or wax paper. Pat down each ball of dough and form into a 1/2”-thick square, then wrap tightly and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. If you’re making the dough more than 3 days ahead of time, store in freezer until ready to use.
Side-note: If you’re using dough from the freezer or fridge, make sure to thaw it out to room temp before assembling the flatbread to bake.
Ingredients for mushroom & fennel mixture |
10 oz wild mushrooms
1 fennel bulb
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano, plus more for garnish (or other choice of herb)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2-1 tsp course salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Directions for mushroom & fennel mixture |
Step 1
Place a tinfoil lined baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 425°F. (The reason for this step is to ensure your pan heats up evenly, and you’ll achieve crispier veggies because they start to cook as soon as you place them down.) To cut the fennel: chop off the fennel fronds and the dried root at the end of the bulb. Cut bulb in half, then slice thinly, widthwise (here’s a helpful video). Chop your mushrooms, garlic, and oregano. Place all the chopped veggies and herbs into a large bowl and toss in the olive oil, balsamic, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper.
Step 2
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place your mushroom-fennel mixture on the baking sheet; try to avoid overcrowding the pan too much. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Then take out and allow to cool down while you roll out your pastry dough.
Step 3
Increase the oven to 450°F. Roll out your pastry dough on a lightly floured surface. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, then distribute the mushroom-fennel mix evenly on top of the flatbread. Slightly pinch up the edges of the dough to ensure the mushroom mixture won’t spill out. Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Drizzle a touch of olive oil and balsamic on top & serve.
Enjoy!
I’m still figuring out how to best engage with you all here, so if you have any suggestions—I’m all ears. For now, I’m recommending a few links that felt worthwhile to share. Whether that’s an article I read, a podcast I listened to, a recipe I tried out, an artist I admire, an organization I support, etc. I try to be thoughtful with my newsletter content and I hope that shows.
A podcast:
For Black history month, the NPR Throughline podcast has been highlighting a few individuals and this latest episode on Octavia Butler was especially moving. I grabbed a copy of Parable of the Sower from my local bookstore (Topo’s) over the weekend.
A conversation:
If you’re a food enthusiast like me, you’ve probably heard of Pineapple Collaborative. Today they posted an event ‘On Food & Writing’ that will be taking place (virtually) on March 10th. Food & culture writer Alicia Kennedy will be leading a conversation about labor and new food media, the consequences of fetishizing prestige publications, self-publishing, and an AMA on how to make a living as a writer.
An organization:
The Queer Food Foundation is a donation-based community mutual aid project designed to protect, promote, fund and create queer food spaces. And investing in their communities will help feed and nourish those impacted by food insecurity in the Black Queer Community. You can find out more about the organization here & here.
Many thanks..
to my readers for subscribing to this newsletter. Please share it with a friend who might enjoy it, and feel free to email me with any questions, feedback or suggestions. & be sure to tag me on instagram (@woodbinestreetkitchen) if you try out this or past wsk recipes because I genuinely love seeing your food photos 👀.
🖤
Renee
