A gougère with green cauliflower
This recipe is my take on the mushroom-topped gougère, which by itself is just choux pastry mixed with cheese. I match portabella mushrooms (yes, there are two As and one O in the mushroom name) with two Spanish cheeses in the gougère dough. They are very similar cheeses, and even have the same herb-pressed braiding on their rinds, in different colors. But Iberico is made from a blend of cow’s, sheep’s, and goat’s milk, and is slightly tangier and more floral than the other cheese. Manchego is made from sheep’s milk and is a bit sharper, though it varies with age. You could use either cheese alone for this dish, or mix them as I’ve done.
For the choux pastry:
5.7 oz or 1 cup + 2 TBs bread flour (or “strong” flour)
4 oz butter (one stick or 8 tablespoons)
250 ml or 1 cup + 2 teaspoons water
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
3 large eggs, beaten
Iberico cheese, grated — 1.6 oz or 45 grams or ½ cup
Manchego cheese, grated — 1.6 oz or 45 grams or ½ cup
For the filling:
4 medium portabella mushrooms (about 3 oz each) OR 2 large portabellas
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp herbes de provence of other herb mix
¼ tsp ground white pepper
5 oz or 1 cup chopped white onion
For the velouté sauce:
Roux (blended flour and butter)
1 cup or 250ml chicken stock
¼ tsp cayenne, paprika, or other red ground pepper
salt to taste
First, make the choux paste for the gougères. In a medium saucepan over high heat, melt the butter in the water and add the salt. Remove from heat, add flour, and mix thoroughly, mashing to a smooth paste with a wooden spoon. Return the saucepan to a medium-hot burner and stir often, cooking the flour-butter paste for a few minutes, until it has a sheen like marzipan. (Yes, you do need to ‘pre-cook’ the paste.) Now you’re ready for the eggs. Crack one egg at a time into the pan, and blend each egg in thoroughly, so that each is thoroughly absorbed into the flour-butter paste, then add the next one. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F/ 190°C, and spoon out clumps of paste the size of small donuts, onto a non-stick or parchment-paper-lined baking tray. Bake for 40 minutes with the oven door constantly shut.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack. Cook the onion-garlic- mushroom filling in a frying pan over medium heat, beginning with the olive oil and onions, then adding the garlic and the mushrooms and other ingredients last. Cook the velouté sauce in medium-low heat in a small saucepan. Pour the sauce over the mushroom-onion mix, stir, and spoon the medley onto the bottom half of the gougères, with the top half perched on top. Serve with salad greens or other veg.