WILD MUSHROOM NAPOLEON

By ldelmas

Ingredients

• FOR THE NAPOLEON:
• 1 large Russet potato
• olive oil
• sea salt
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 4-6 jumbo asparagus
• 1/2 pound assorted mushrooms: Morel, Shiitake, Oyster
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 rounded teaspoon finely chopped shallots
• pinch of finely minced garlic
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 1/2 cup port wine
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon butter
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Step 1

TO PREPARE THE POTATO CRISPS:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Wash and peel the potato. Using a very sharp knife or vegetable slicer, cut 8 paperthin
lengthwise slices of potato.
Lightly coat the bottom of a cookie sheet with the olive oil.
Place the slices of potato on the prepared baking sheet.
Brush the slices of potato with olive oil.
Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes until the slices are lightly
browned and crisp.
Carefully transfer the baked potato slices, using a wide spatula, onto paper towels to
remove excess oil. Season with salt and set aside.

TO PREPARE THE VEGETABLE FILLING:
Trim the stems and steam the asparagus over salted water for 3-4 minutes; al dente.
Drain and reserve. Trim, wash, and drain the assorted mushrooms. Heat the olive
oil in a medium sauté pan, add the prepared mushrooms, and sauté for 2-3 minutes
over high flame, tossing occasionally. Add the shallots and cook 1 more minute.
Add a pinch of garlic and season with salt and pepper. Toss several times and
remove from heat. Transfer the sautéed mushrooms to a plate and keep warm.

TO PREPARE THE SAUCE:
Place the same sauté pan in which you cooked the mushrooms over high heat. Add
the port wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil and reduce by half to obtain about ¼ cup
port wine reduction, approximately 4 minutes.
Remove from heat and whisk in the butter.
Taste and adjust seasonings. Keep warm.

TO ASSEMBLE THE NAPOLEON:
Place a potato crisp in the center of each of two warm plates.
Place ½ of the prepared asparagus over each of the 2 potato crisps.
Divide ½ of the sautéed mushrooms to cover each of the potato crisps.
Place another potato crisp over the mushrooms and repeat the previous step.
Finally, top the second layer of mushrooms with the third slice of potato. (The 2
extra slices of potato are insurance against breakage.)
Spoon ½ of the port wine sauce around each of the Napoleons and serve.

HINT:
Wild mushrooms – Morels, Chanterelles, Cèpes, Hedgehog, Chicken of the Woods,
Lobster, and Cauliflower – are plentiful seasonally throughout the year. Mix several
varieties with the addition of domestic mushrooms for a memorable dish. Sauté the
mushrooms over very high heat. If necessary, prepare in several batches, as the
mushrooms will boil rather than sauté if overcrowded in the pan.