The whole world knows julienne as the way to chop vegetables in thin slices. It’s said that in early 20th century Russia a sumptuous dish appeared that consisted of mushrooms and cream, and it somehow inherited the julienne name. In fact, the ingredients are cut à lajulienne. However, it took too much space to write "mushrooms à la julienne" on the menu. Moreover, restaurant owners found this French word more attractive for their guests. If you ask a Russian what julienne is, then most likely you will hear that it’s a warm, mushroom-based starter.
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Traditionally, julienne contains simple farmed mushrooms and béchamel sauce. However, high fat content sour cream is more often used nowadays. Today, I will offer you a superior variation of this dish using porcini mushrooms, served festively in puff pastry cups.
A few words about the porcini. They are considered to be noble mushrooms due to their wonderful taste and nutritional qualities. Following our family tradition, I used to collect porcini in the forest when I lived in Russia. While they aren’t so common in Europe, they are available in supermarkets. Why porcini? They give a special soft texture to the julienne that goes nicely with a crunchy cheese crust. In Russia, julienne is usually served in small aluminum ramekins, but we’ll cook it in puff cups that can be found in any store.
Ingredients:
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- Porcini mushrooms (frozen) – 300 g
- High fat sour cream (30%) – 200 g
- Onion – 1 pc
- Cheese – 100 g
- Butter – 50 g
- Puff pastry cups - 10 pcs
- Salt
- Pepper
- Nutmeg
Cooking:
1. Cut the onion à la julienne and fry it in butter until soft.
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2. Rinse frozen mushrooms with hot water, cut in thin pieces and add to the onions.
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3. Add sour cream and stew mushrooms for about 20 minutes. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and take off the burner.
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4. Warm the oven to 200°C. Fill the puff pastry cups with the mushroom sauce, cover with cheese and put in the oven on the upper level.
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5. When the tops of the cups are nicely golden, take them out.
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6. Serve julienne in cups while still hot.
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7. Enjoy!
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