Vocab for Foodies: Duxelles

In college, my vegetarian friend Natalie took me to a restaurant that served the most amazing crab and brie stuffed mushrooms I’ve had to date. The creamy tang of the brie contrasted perfectly with the woodsy mushroom and the rich, tender crab, that literally melted in my mouth. At that time, I was doing some cooking for my roommates, but nothing too adventurous, as we all had fairly different palates. But I felt pretty confident that no one would turn their nose up at the stuffed mushrooms, so I set out to find a recipe to recreate the dish.

I’ve since lost that original recipe I used, but it sticks out in my mind because of the inclusion of one word: Duxelles. I had to look it up at the time, but now I know that duxelles [deu-SEHL] is really just a fancy French word for a simple, versatile mushroom sauté.

Duxelles is a mixture of finely chopped mushroom stems, shallots and herbs slowly cooked in butter (you can also add wine—I like to) until a thick paste is formed. It's used in stuffings, soups, sauces (notably, Beef Wellington) and also as garnish. The recipe below works well when combined with other ingredients (like crab, brie, sausage, etc.) used to stuff mushrooms. As in the case of Forgot-to-go-to-the-Grocery-Store Black Bean Soup, just use what you’ve got on hand or what you’re really into that week to fill the mushroom caps alongside the duxelles.

Duxelles

2 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
8 oz. fresh mushroom stems, finely chopped (try crimini or Portobello)
1 spring thyme leaves
2 tbsp. dry white wine
salt and pepper

In a skillet, add the butter, garlic and shallot, and sauté over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook until most of the moisture is gone, 5-10 minutes. Add in the wine and stir together (it should look like a coarse mash). Season to taste with salt and pepper.