In Swedish, chanterelles (and other mushrooms that can be found in the forest this time of year) are often referred to as skogsguld, forest gold. Cooking them up in a pan with a little olive oil or butter is as indicative of autumn to me as the changing colors.

I haven’t been out to harvest any chanterelles this season, but fortunately my friend Adam supplies a good stash, and I like sautéing them and serving on top of a slice of rye bread for a simple warm sandwich.

Another good way to put chanterelles to use is in a tart or quiche. I like making savory tarts because they are fairly straightforward and forgiving; just sauté up whatever you want as a filling, pour some whisked eggs on top and call it a day.

For this one in particular, I wanted a flavorful crust to pair with the earthy chanterelles, so I came up with a rye pastry crust. It’s made up of mostly rye flour and a little oat flour.

This is a cozy recipe, perfect for a blustery autumn day with flickering candles on the kitchen table. Leftovers will be perfect for breakfast the next day too, so be sure to save a few slices.

Ingredients:

Rye Pastry Crust

1 cup (3.5 ounces, 100 grams) rye flour

1/2 cup (1.5 ounces, 45 grams) oat flour

8 tablespoons (4 ounces, 113 grams) salted butter, cold

4 tablespoons ice cold water

Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, like sage or thyme

Chanterelle Filling

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 medium sized onion or 1 large leek, finely chopped

About 10.5 ounces (300 grams) chanterelles, cleaned and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (60 milliliters) yogurt

2 tablespoons thyme leaves

Salt and pepper

3 eggs

Preparation:

To prepare the crust, place the water in a bowl and put in the freezer while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients.

In a bowl, combine the rye flour, oat flour and any herbs you would like to add. Mix together.

Cut the butter into the flour mixture in 1/2-inch cubes. Mix together so that the butter is coated in flour. Use your fingers to break the butter down into smaller pieces, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal and the butter pieces are about the size of a dime. Remove the water from the freezer and add to the mixture, working together until you can form the dough into a ball.

Wrap in a tea towel and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to chill.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC).

Grease and flour (I like to use cornmeal, for a little added texture) a 9 or 10 inch baking pan (or springform pan). Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick. This dough has a tendency to break when you roll it out, but that’s no reason to panic. Just pinch it back together in the pan. Place the rolled out dough in the pan and use your hands to flatten it out and make it go up the side of the pan. Aim to have the edge of the crust go up about an inch.

Pre-bake the crust for 10 minutes.

To prepare the filling, place the olive oil, garlic and chopped onion or leek in a pan and sauté for about five minutes. Add the chanterelles, thyme leaves and a dash of salt and pepper and sauté until the mushrooms have softened, then add in the yogurt and stir together. Let cook for an additional minute or two.

In a bowl, whisk the eggs. Place the chanterelle filling in the pre-baked crust, and pour the whisked eggs over. Give the pan a little shake so that the eggs evenly distribute over the rest of the filling.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tart is a deep golden brown.

Let cool for a bit before serving.

Interested in more Swedish and Scandinavian inspired recipes like this one? Check out my books Fika The Art of The Swedish Coffee Break with Recipes for Pastries Breads & Other Treats and Live Lagom Balanced Living the Swedish Way.