Sformato of porcini

Makes: 6|Cooks In: 30 mins|Difficulty: Easy

“I am a big fan of soft sformati, which are a kind of Italian custard made with a béchamel (white) sauce. Almost any vegetable can be turned into a sformato: mushrooms, zucchini, capsicum, eggplant – you name it. They are vegetarian and can be served cold as a starter or as a main course accompaniment. They save my life whenever vegetarians are in for dinner. Porcini are Italian dried mushrooms. They are expensive, but you only need to use a few. You could also use porcini oil, which has some merit if not allowed to get too old and oxidised. A few drops can increase flavour.”

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled, finely chopped
1 stick celery, trimmed, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g beef mince
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Large pinch ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons SPLENDA® Granular

Method

Step 1

Soak the porcini mushrooms in twice their volume of warm water for about 10 minutes to reconstitute them. Squeeze dry and combine with the cultivated mushrooms.

Step 2

Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan and sauté the mushrooms. Cook until the liquid has reduced and then purée in a food processor.

Step 3

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Mix the mushrooms with the béchamel sauce, egg and parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and pour into 6 lightly greased plastic dariole moulds (which are available from many supermarkets) or ceramic soufflé ramekins.

Step 4

Fold a tea towel and place in the bottom of a deep baking tray. Arrange the dariole moulds in the tray and pour in enough warm water to come halfway up the sides of the moulds.

Step 5

Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, or until set. The sformato should be fairly firm to the touch.

Sformato of porcini

Ingredients

Method

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