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Oh my Goodness, what a fun appetizer to take to a gathering AND it was enjoyed by all! ( The children didn’t go for it and opted for cheese and salami with crackers , but the adults all dug in.)
My daughter has a gluten sensitivity so I needed to opt out of the Phyllo dough and come up with an alternative. I used sweet potato crackers (found them at Costco) and then spread my pesto on each cracker, placed a mushroom and onion slice on top and served. The picture in the book shows an Italian Parsley leaf on top of each serving, but I was a little worried about Parsley overkill. If you can eat gluten, the phyllo dough option is out of this world!!
I was excited to find a pesto option that is every bit as good as the basil option. The walnut-pesto was easy to prepare and very tasty even though it had no parm cheese in it. So, this recipe became vegan friendly and gluten free and still appreciated as a fun, different appetizer.
Saute:
2 Tbl. olive oil
6 cups slice mushrooms ( I used Portobello and recipe calls for cremini) about 1 lb.
1 med. red onion, chopped
Walnut Pesto: Use the food processor to make the pesto….
1 large clove of garlic minced
2/3 c. toasted walnuts
1 c. loosely packed fresh parsley, large stems removed
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
The original recipe calls for Phyllo but…have you ever used Phyllo???? It’s hard to work with!!!!! I used a pastry sheet instead and it was just perfect. I laid my pastry sheet on the parchment paper lined baking sheet… Brushed the sheet with olive oil…spread the walnut pesto to within 1/2 inch of the edge…spread out the mushrooms and sautéed onions and bake for 26-30 minutes or until lightly golden and crispy to the touch. Cool the tart for 5 minutes before slicing it with a pizza cutter.
