(NC)-Shiitake's are my favourite mushroom and have amazing flavour. You often don't find them around though as they are used very little, I find, in home cooking. Save for a few Asian dishes, shiitakes have little of the spotlight. What I did know, was that there is always dried shiitake mushrooms in my grocer, along with fresh.

So I decided to amp up the shiitake flavour by using ground dried shiitake mushrooms as 1/3 of the flour in the crust, not only does this make for a beautifully buttery crust, but it also makes the whole shiitake flavour a wonderful star of this dish. Shiitakes are meaty and plump when cooked and when paired with super thin shavings of a good steak, make for a mouth watering pizza that's as easy as it is delicious!
 

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes
 

Ingredients
 

2oz dried shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
 

2 cups all purpose flour
 

1 tsp salt
 

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable shortening
 

3/4-1 cup water
 

2 tbsp butter
 

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
 

1 large leek, sliced thinly into half moons
 

200g fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced and woody stems removed
 

1 clove garlic, minced
 

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
 

1/3 cup white wine
 

kosher salt to taste
 

fresh cracked black pepper to taste
 

1/4 cup heavy cream (or half and half)
 

1/2 lb. hanger steak (or any good quality steak such as, filet, strip, ribeye, etc.)
 

1 tsp olive oil
 

200g Gruyere cheese, grated fine
 

3oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
 

1 tbsp butter
 

Method
 

1. Pulverize dried shiitake mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor until it takes on a bread crumb like consistency.
 

2. In a large bowl mix flour, salt and pulverized mushrooms.
 

3. Cut in shortening until a fine crumb like texture forms.
 

4. Pour in 3/4 cup water and if more is needed at a bit at a time. Knead dough until stickiness is gone and dough is slightly elastic. Let rest 30 minutes covered in bowl.
 

5. In a large sauté pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter on medium heat. Add in rosemary, garlic, leeks and fresh shiitake mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms are softened.
 

6. Add Dijon salt and pepper and white wine. Continue to sauté until wine reduces by half and all vegetables are thoroughly cooked through.
 

7. Stir in cream, cook for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Set aside.
 

8. Rub steak with 1 tsp of oil and season with salt and pepper. Sear in a sauté pan on high heat (or on the grill) for 2 minutes per side. Just long enough to brown the outside leaving the interior very rare.
 

9. Allow steak to cool for 10 minutes and slice as thin as possible against the grain. Set aside.
 

10. On a lightly floured surface roll out dough to desired shape and about 1/4" thick. Roll up edges to make a crust and pinch down to seal.
 

11. Bake on a baking sheet in a 450°F oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
 

12. When down, spread 1 tbsp butter over the crust, top with chopped spinach, leek mixture, steak and grated Gruyere.
 

13. Return to 450°F oven for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden.
 

14. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
 

Elizabeth is a fitness enthusiast and the blogger behind Guilty Kitchen (www.GuiltyKitchen.com), a collection of original recipes and photos from her family kitchen just outside of Victoria, B.C.
 

For more blogger recipes visit www.blog.mushrooms.ca.