Stuffed Mushrooms With Duxelles

Break out your food processor to chop the mushrooms, shallots/onions and parsley very finely. White mushrooms provide a milder flavor, wild mushrooms a more distinctive flavor. Vary this recipe to your own taste, adding a quarter to half a cup finely chopped ham or even sausage for a meaty option. Or substitute olive oil for butter to make it vegan. You may have filling leftover. It freezes well and can be served on toast point as an appetizer.

Makes 20 hors d’oeuvres, with about 1 cup of duxelles filling

11⁄ to 11⁄ pounds mushrooms,

4 2 white button or mixed with cremini or other wild mushrooms, washed and dried, 20 caps reserved

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra to oil baking pan

1 large shallot or half a small onion, very finely chopped

1 to 2 cloves garlic, to taste, very finely chopped

1⁄ 2

teaspoon kosher salt

1 to 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped

1⁄ teaspoon freshly

8 ground pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove stems from 20 mushroom caps. Place mushroom caps, stem side down, on a lightly oiled shallow baking pan and bake in the middle of the oven about 10 minutes, until the caps expel liquid. Remove from oven. Chop the stems and remaining mushrooms very finely. Melt butter with oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add the shallots or onion and garlic and cook until softened, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes. Add the chopped mushrooms and 1⁄ teaspoon salt and cook, stir

4 ring, until mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, about 7 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and cook about 3 minutes until liquid has cooked off. Mix in parsley, 1⁄ teaspoon salt, pepper and pinch of nutmeg. Turn

4 mushroom caps over and fill with duxelles mixture, mounding and pressing gently. Bake in the middle of the oven until the filling is golden brown and the mushrooms tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Romesco Sauce

This sauce pairs well with boiled shrimp, white-fleshed fish, poultry or pork.

Makes about 4 servings

1⁄ cup whole blanched

3 almonds, toasted

1 slice firm white bread, crusts removed, in pieces

2 large cloves garlic

1⁄ teaspoon hot red

2 pepper flakes

In a food processor or blender, grind almonds, bread, garlic and pepper flakes. Add roasted peppers, vinegar and salt and process. Slowly add oil and season with black pepper.

— Adapted from Epicurious.com. 1⁄ cup bottled red or mixed red and

2 yellow roasted peppers, drained and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar

1⁄ 4

1⁄ 2

cup extra-virgin olive oil teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste