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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Puffball and Squash Gratin with Goat Cheese

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Squash and puffball mushroom torte recipeWild mushrooms make fantastic gratins, which is probably evident in that there’s at least 3 separate mushroom gratins on this website. Gratin is a sort of loose word though, and each recipe I’ve put up is very different, since, at the end of the day, the word gratin itself just means baked.

Think of gratin as a sort of French equivalent of casserole, and, just like casserole and hot dish, gratin has different permutations and regional differences, such as the tian, which is a similar dish from the South of France that is typically vegetables with no to little sauce. 

Peeling butternut squash
First you’ll need to peel a squash.
Shaving butternut squash on a mandoline slicer
After peeling, you slice the squash on a mandoline.

Today a very special gratin to highlight puffball mushrooms. Puffballs ability to be thinly sliced makes them really versatile in the kitchen, and I’ve always wanted to do a pressed gratin of puffballs and squash or potatoes, with the slices of cooked mushroom being alternated with the vegetables.

Squash and puffball mushroom torte recipe
Covering the first layer of squash with a layer of bechamel
Squash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe
Adding goat cheese and fresh chopped thyme.
Squash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe
Adding a layer of cooked puffball slices.
Squash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe
Topping the puffball slices with more bechamel, goat cheese and thyme.
Squash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe
A final layer of squash on the top, then more bechamel before it bakes.
Squash and puffball mushroom torte recipeSquash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe
Finished, chilled, pressed and sliced gratin.

This one is the mushroom-ized version of my favorite squash gratin, that I learned from a sous chef of mine from Argentina.

Typically it’s nothing more than sliced squash with goat cheese and thyme, but, as the mushrooms contain a little more water, and I wanted to make sure that the gratin was pressed and could be cut into pretty slices, I added some bechamel to help anchor things in place, which worked well. 

Pressing squash and puffball mushroom torte

Press the finished gratin with a weight and refrigerate overnight to help it set.

Like most gratins, it takes some time to make, but it is well worth the effort and makes a real statement. As an option, to make it even more appealing (especially to non-mushroom eaters) I demonstrate how you can serve the finished dish coated with a crispy top layer of breadcrumbs that helps add visual depth, taste and texture. 

Squash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe
Finished, sliced gratin.
Squash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe
Adding breadcrumbs and thinly sliced butter before re-baking and serving.

How to serve it 

Gratins are super versatile. This gratin, as it can be cut into pretty slices, means that it can be a compliment to a larger meal, like a potato gratin, but you need to keep in mind that puffball mushrooms are very rich.

So, instead of serving this alongside meat, I recommend serving the gratin as the main portion of a meal. Serve it hot with a nice green salad and a few spoonfuls of your favorite tomato sauce, warmed. It can work well for brunch too. 

Squash and puffball mushroom torte recipeSquash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe

Squash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Puffball and Squash Gratin with Goat Cheese

A savory, pressed cake of sliced puffball mushrooms, squash, goat cheese and herbs. Serves 8
Prep Time1 hr
Cook Time1 d 21 hrs
Resting time8 hrs
Course: Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, French
Keyword: Puffball mushroom, Squash

Ingredients

Squash and puffballs

  • 1 lb cooked puffball slices *see note
  • 1 medium sized butternut squash
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup (6oz) soft fresh goat chevre, crumbled If you love goat cheese, you can add more.
  • 1.5 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

Bechamel

  • 2.25 cups milk
  • Splash of dry white wine
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • Fresh grated nutmeg to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For finishing

  • ½ cup toasted panko breadcrumbs
  • ½ stick unsalted butter

Instructions

Bechamel

  • Melt the butter and flour in a small sauce pot until foaming, whisking occasionally. Add a splash of white wine and the salt and cook for 1 minute, then add the milk, ½ cup at a time, whisking constantly between additions to prevent lumps until it’s incorporated.
  • When all the milk is added, the mixture should be thick and bubbling. Remove it from the heat and cover to prevent it forming a skin, season to taste with fresh grated nutmeg and reserve until needed.

Squash

  • Peel the squash (you will want a Kuhn Rikon peeler for this), then cut the seedless part in half the long way and slice on a mandoline into 1/8th thick half moons.

Puffballs

  • Cut the puffball into 1 inch slices, then grill on both sides on a hot griddle brushed with butter, seasoning them lightly with salt and pepper as they cook on both sides. Set the puffballs aside on a tray, laying each slice on top of one another, until cooled. When cool, press the puffball slices firmly between a layer or two of paper towels to help remove water. Reserve the puffballs until needed.

Building the gratin

  • Spread the bottom of a spring form pan with ¼ cup of the bechamel, then put down a layer of squash. Season the squash lightly with salt, some of the chevre, and fresh thyme.
  • Next, put on a layer of cooked puffball slices, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper, and pressing it down firmly, then repeat with the chevre, thyme, and bechamel.
  • Go easy on the salt, but don’t forget it. Repeat this process two more times, so that you have two layers of squash and puffball, then, finally top with a layer of squash, spread it with bechamel, and bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Allow the torte to cool, then put a flat plate on it, top with a weight, and refrigerate overnight to help it set and compress it.

Serving

  • To portion, unhinge the outer ring of the spring form pan, then, using a sharp chefs knife, cut the torte into wedges. Cover the top of the sliced, but still whole torte with breadcrumbs, top with thin slices of cold butter all over, then bake for 30 minutes at 350 F, or until hot throughout. To brown the crumbs, turn the broiler on for the last few minutes, keeping the torte on the bottom of the oven, until the top is nicely browned. Serve.

More

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Squash and puffball mushroom gratin recipe (6)

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  1. Charlie DeSando

    November 25, 2021 at 9:22 am

    5 stars
    Very nice, Chef!

    Reply

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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