Old Russian-Style Mushroom Cocotte
Cocotte is French for the small heatproof dish, and the recipe takes its name from the vessel. Inside it, béchamel meets three mushrooms doing three jobs: porcini for aroma, oyster mushrooms for meaty fibre, button mushrooms for neutral bulk. Leek replaces onion on purpose — sweeter, and it doesn’t shout over the mushrooms.
The mistake to avoid is tipping all 400 g (about 14 oz) of mushrooms into the pan at once. They dump their liquid, the pan temperature crashes, and you get a grey stew instead of browned edges — so work in batches of four or five minutes, with the thyme in the oil from the start, since herbs give their aroma to hot fat rather than to the mushrooms directly. Cook the béchamel until it visibly coats the spoon: mushroom juices will loosen it again in the oven, and a thin sauce becomes a puddle under the cheese crust. Nutmeg goes in by the pinch, there to strip the raw-flour taste rather than to be tasted itself. Soaked dried porcini can stand in for fresh and give an even deeper aroma — just squeeze them out well so they don’t water down the sauce. Filled ramekins sit happily in the fridge and go into the 190°C (375°F) oven once guests arrive.
Part of French cuisine — 28 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Clean the porcini of any dirt and wash them well. Trim off the tough stems of the oyster mushrooms. Slice the porcini, oyster, and button mushrooms into pieces 3–4 mm thick.
Wash the leek well and cut it into rings or thin strips.
Grate the cheese on a fine grater and mix it with the breadcrumbs.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir well so there are no lumps. Cook for another half-minute, then pour in the milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Increase the heat, bring the sauce to a boil, and cook for another 2–3 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Remove the sauce from the heat and add salt, pepper, and the grated nutmeg.
Heat the oil in a pan along with the thyme leaves. Then, in several batches, sear the mushrooms with the leek until golden (4–5 minutes per batch).
Mix all the seared ingredients together and divide them among the ramekins. Pour over the béchamel sauce, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and cheese, and place in an oven preheated to 375°F (190°C). Bake for 17–20 minutes until golden.
Serve the cocotte warm, garnished with watercress.
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