Smoked Salmon and Mushroom Tourte

Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and press each piece flat between your fingers to create rough, flat shards. Work quickly until the mixture resembles coarse rubble with visible butter streaks — do not rub to fine crumbs. Drizzle in the ice-cold water, one tablespoon at a time, folding with a bench scraper until the dough just holds together. Flatten into a rectangle, wrap tightly, and divide into two equal discs.

Refrigerate the pastry for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 24 hours — this stage is unattended.

While the pastry chills, prepare the duxelles. Heat the 30 g butter and olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foaming. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent, about 3–4 minutes.

Add the garlic and finely chopped mushrooms to the pan. Cook over high heat, stirring often, until all moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms are deeply golden and beginning to stick to the pan — this will take 10–12 minutes. The mixture must look completely dry.

Pour in the white wine and scrape up any fond from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine has fully evaporated, about 2–3 minutes. Season with the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from the heat and spread onto a plate to cool completely.

In a bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, 2 beaten eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, fresh dill and parsley until smooth. Fold in the cooled duxelles and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200°C, or 390°F, or gas mark 6 with a heavy baking sheet inside to heat.

On a lightly floured surface, roll one disc of pastry into a 28 cm round, approximately 4 mm thick. Transfer to a sheet of baking parchment. Spread half the crème fraîche–duxelles mixture over the base, leaving a 2 cm border. Arrange the smoked salmon pieces in an even layer, then top with the remaining crème fraîche mixture.

Roll the second pastry disc to the same size and thickness. Drape it over the filling and press the edges firmly together, then crimp tightly with a fork or your fingers to seal completely. Cut a small steam hole in the centre and score a light decorative pattern on top without cutting through. Brush the entire surface with the beaten egg wash.

Slide the tourte on its parchment onto the preheated baking sheet. Bake until the pastry is a deep, even golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted through the steam hole into the centre of the filling reads 70°C (158°F), approximately 35–40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving — this brief rest is unattended.