Duxelles.

Duxelles is French, old, and the single most useful mushroom preparation there is: mushrooms chopped very fine and cooked down with shallot and butter until all the water has gone and what remains is a dark, intense paste.

It is also the answer to waste. A kitchen with a standing duxelles habit never throws mushrooms away — day-six mushrooms, trim, offcuts, odd handfuls of three species all go in, and the result is better for the variety.

What you need

Mushrooms

• 2 lb mushrooms, any mix, chopped very fine
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Aromatics

• 3 shallots, very finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 3 tbsp dry sherry, madeira or white wine
• Salt, black pepper
• 1 tsp soy sauce (optional, but good)

Method

1. Chop very fine — the size of coarse breadcrumbs. A food processor in short pulses is fine; do not let it turn to purée, and do it in batches so it stays even.
2. Dry-cook the mushrooms first. Large wide pan, no fat, medium-high heat. They will release a lot of liquid. Keep going 12–15 minutes until it has all evaporated and the pan is dry.
3. Add butter and oil, then the shallots, and cook 8 minutes until soft and sweet.
4. Garlic and thyme for 2 minutes.
5. Now brown it properly: 10–12 minutes more over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture is dark brown and almost dry. This is where the flavour is.
6. Deglaze with sherry, scraping the pan, and cook until it has gone. Season, adding the soy if using.
7. Cool completely, then spread thin in a freezer bag, flatten to about a quarter inch, and freeze flat. Break pieces off as needed.

Wide pan, dry first

Two pounds of mushrooms holds a lot of water, and a narrow pan will simply simmer them for half an hour. Use the widest pan you own so the water can evaporate, and do not add fat until the pan is genuinely dry.

Freeze it flat in a thin sheet, not in a lump. You can snap off a two-tablespoon piece for a weeknight pasta without thawing the whole bag.

What to do with it

• Stirred through pasta with butter and parmesan — the fastest good dinner in the house.
• On toast with a fried egg.
• Under the skin of a roast chicken.
• Folded into risotto at the end.
• In a pie or a tart, or as the classic layer in beef Wellington.
• Whisked into a pan sauce or gravy for instant depth.
• Stuffed into ravioli, mixed with ricotta.

Keeping it

Nine months frozen — longer than sautéed mushrooms, because there is so little water left. A week refrigerated. See freezing fresh mushrooms for why the cooked-first rule matters.

Common questions