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Duxelles is a classic French culinary term that refers to a finely chopped mixture of mushrooms, onions, and garlic, sautéed in butter until all moisture evaporates. After evaporation, the duxelles takes on a paste-like consistency. This texture allows it to be used as a filling for beef Wellington, savory tarts, puff pastry envelopes, and tartlets. It can also serve as a wonderful base for mushroom sauces. If desired, it can be a side dish. Herbs such as parsley, thyme, rosemary, or cilantro can also be added to enhance the duxelles with even more aromas and flavors.
Historical sources claim that duxelles was created in the 17th century by François-Pierre de La Varenne, a famous French chef. He named this dish after his patron, the Marquis d'Uxelles, Marshal of France Nicolas Chalon du Blé (interesting, when did the French not enjoy a good meal?).
It is likely that the chef decided to dehydrate the mushroom mixture after noticing that using fresh mushrooms in the dish during cooking released an excessive amount of steam. This steam was not only disproportionate to the amount of mushrooms but also led to cracks in the pastry, its deformation, and often explosions in the oven. Therefore, to avoid such consequences, de La Varenne began to pre-dehydrate the finely chopped mushrooms.
We explained and demonstrated how to prepare duxelles in our post about Beef Wellington. It is quite an easy dish that allows room for improvisation. It starts with the selection of mushrooms. You can use both champignons and oyster mushrooms, add porcini and truffles. Experienced chefs claim that adding “wild” forest mushrooms will give the duxelles a rich, deep aroma.
After preparation, duxelles can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or frozen for longer storage.
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