Duxelles
Avo and Dram’s chef Ben Kirk demos this classic French recipe.
By Jan Walsh
Photography by Beau Gustafson
Duxelles is a semi sauce made of minced mushrooms and other ingredients that
is used in many dishes. Thinner than a paste but thicker than a sauce, Duxelles
is a versatile recipe that can be used as a stuffing, base, garnish, and the filling
of a savory tart or pie. Duxelles is said to have originated in 17th-century France,
when French chef François Pierre La Varenne supposedly named the dish after
his employer, Nicolas Chalon du Blé, marquis d'Uxelles, maréchal de France.
It is most commonly known as the stuffing in beef Wellington and as a garnish.
Today chef Ben Kirk stuffs a veal chop with Duxelles.
Ingredients:
1 Pound fresh mushrooms, cut *brunoise style
*julienned and then turned a quarter turn and diced again, producing
cubes of a side length of about 2 or 3 mm or less on each side)
6 Tablespoons minced shallots
½ Teaspoon chopped thyme
½ Cup dry sherry
Pinch salt
Pinch white pepper
6 Turns of cracked black pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons E.V.O (extra virgin olive oil)
1.5 Cups of chiffonade spinach
1 Cup crumbled feta
Procedure:
Press mushrooms in chinoise (conical sieve with extremely fine mesh) to remove
liquid. Heat sauté pan between medium- to-medium high heat. Add E.V.O. Saute
mushrooms and shallots. Add thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Add butter
and deglaze with sherry. Reduce 15 minutes on low, until moisture is removed.
Add spinach and feta to a bowl. Add warm duxelles to spinach and feta. Toss
until spinach wilts. For veal chops, use a pastry bag to stuff each chop with ¼
to ½ cup duxelles. Grill chop on each side over medium high to mark the chop.
Then finish in oven at 350 – 375 degrees.
