As part of our recipe plan for hosting a wild and foraged themed party, I’ve included these 2 spectacular wild recipes perfect for entertaining. The first came after doing a tasting at the new Maille Mustard Boutique that opened on the Upper West side of Manhattan, where I was totally wowed by the possibilities of dijon mustard—and more. The photos (at the top of this post) show two of the items we sampled at the tasting, which also included a Beef Tartare, Spring Root Vegetable Roulade, and Lox, all with mustard as the surprise ingredient. Executive Chef of Tastings NYC, Cedric Duran has generously shared his recipe for gougères with us, which includes a White Wine Mustard with Fine Herbs as the surprise ingredient.

If you prefer adventures of the meatier kind, then take a look at the recipe for Venison, that pairs perfectly with the ingredient of the Spring season, ramps! Fossil Farms, which we featured on our website this month for exotic meat sources is located in Boonton, NJ and offers weekly samplings every Saturday. You might have just missed the Cinco de Mayo Emu Tacos wrapped in lettuce that were on their menu!

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recipe

Comte Gougères with Fine Herb Mustard Sweet Onion Cream

MAKES 50 BITES

Make the Gougères…Preheat oven 350º

9 oz water
7 TB of butter
3 tsp salt
1 pinch black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
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7 oz all-purpose flour
5 whole eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 CUP aged Comté cheese, grated
1/2 CUP heavy cream
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Mix water, butter, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg together in a pan over heat till it boils.
Add flour and stir for 5 min. Put the dough into a mixer bowl with wire whip and mix it for 3 min to cool down. Add the eggs one by one to obtain a nice, sticky dough. Add baking powder, Comté cheese, and heavy cream. Mix again.
Spoon the dough into a pastry bag and pipe the gougères onto a sheet pan. Bake them in the oven for 10 min.

Make the Onion Cream

5 Spanish onions
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 TB Maille White Wine Mustard with Fine Herbs
s + p
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Thinly slice the onions, cook them with butter for 15 min. Once cooked, blend in a blender with the mustard for 2-3 min to obtain a smooth puree. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble

Pipe the mustard filling inside the gougères with and serve warm.

—Recipe by Cedric Duran, Exec Chef of Tastings NYC.

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recipe

BBQ Venison Flank Steak, Ramp Pesto, and Smoky Mushroom Potato Hash

Make the Ramp Pesto

8 oz fresh ramps
2 oz extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt (to taste)
fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
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Place in a food processor and puree.

Make the Smoky Mushroom and Potato Hash

1 oz applewood smoking chips, soaked for 1-2 hours
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 oz chanterelle mushrooms, chopped
1/2 oz morel mushrooms, sliced
1/2 oz shitake mushrooms, sliced
8 oz yukon gold potatoes, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
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1/2 bunch chives, thinly sliced, for garnish
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Add soaked wood chips to coals (ideal temperature is 325º). Heat cast iron pan on grill. Add all the mushrooms, potatoes, and garlic to the pan. Allow to cook and hot smoke until potatoes are tender. Season to taste and finish with chopped chives.

Make the Venison

2 venison flank steaks
s + p
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Season with salt and pepper. Grill over high heat until medium rare. Allow to rest a few minutes and slice thin. Top with pesto, and serve with mushroom potato hash.

—Recipe by Ben Del Coro, Executive Chef, Fossil Farms.

We've got more recipes featuring foraged and wild ingredients in 14 Exotic & Foraged