Oh, dear. I fear that I rushed to post the Truffled Seitan recipe, and in doing so, left in a mention of the “mushroom juice from the duxelles” that I had meant to delete. Naturally, several people have already asked me about this. What are duxelles? They are among one of the most wonderful things in the world. And we have the French to credit for this. Finely minced mushrooms are squeezed dry, then sauteed with shallots and herbs, and maybe even a splash of brandy or sherry, to yield an intense mushroom flavor that will serve as a filling for all manner of things from crepes, lasagna, tarts, potstickers, or how about Truffled Seitan? The extracted juices also pack a punch in flavor and can enhance soups, sauces, or cooked with rice or grains. So here I provide my recipe for duxelles, which, since you’re going to make the Truffled Seitan, anyway, should be used as a filling for that and served on Christmas or New Year’s Eve. It really doesn’t get much more spectacular than that!
- 1 ½ lbs. mushrooms
- 1 cup minced shallots
- 2 Tbs. oil or a little water for sauteeing
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 – 3 Tbs. Madeira, sherry or brandy
- ½ bunch parsley, minced
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup soft breadcrumbs
- 1 – 2 tsp. Truffle oil
- Cut the mushrooms into quarters,then pulse in batches in a food processor until finely minced. Don’t fill your food processor bowl more than 1/3 of the way, or you’ll find that they will be minced unevenly. Also, be sure not to overprocess, or you’ll have sludge, not minced mushrooms.
- Next, in batches, put the minced mushrooms onto a tea towel or thick cheesecloth, wrap it into a bundle, and squeeze the mushrooms over a bowl to extract as much mushroom juice as possible and yield a minced mushrooms that are fairly dry. The liquid can be used in making the Truffled Seitan sauce, or added to soups or anything else where you’d like a big hit of mushroom flavor. Don’t discard! This is genuine gastronomic liquid gold!
- Heat the oil or water in a skillet and sautee the shallots and garlic until tender. Add the squeezed mushrooms and saute over medium heat for about ten minutes until the mixture is lightly browned and fairly dry. Deglaze the pan by sprinkling mushrooms with madeira, sherry or brandy, and cook again briefly. Mix in the parsley, breadcrumbs and truffle oil, and season with salt and pepper.
