Spanish Stuffed Mushrooms

This recipe was inspired by a visit to Madrid, and a restaurant in a cave below the city square, that specialized in mushrooms. I drooled, as cooks tended to dozens of huge mushrooms sizzling on a grill while I enjoyed a few glasses of Sangria.

Ingredients

• 1 chorizo or other spicy sausage, chopped into small pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 12 large button mushrooms
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, separated
• 2 tbsp. minced chives
• salt and pepper
• juice of half a lemon

Sauté the sausage in a frypan over medium heat until done. Remove from frypan and cool, cutting into smaller pieces if necessary for the stuffing. Stem the mushrooms and chop the stems into small pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in the frypan and sauté the mushrooms and garlic until soft. Stir in the chives and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the mushroom mixture to the sausage and stir well to combine. Stuff the mushrooms, slightly mounding the mixture in the cavity. Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat and place the mushrooms in the pan, flat side down. Use a spatula to flatten the mushrooms from time to time as they cook. After the mushrooms have cooked for 5 to 10 minutes and have begun to soften, sprinkle them with the lemon juice, put a cover on the frypan, and turn the heat to low and steam for 2 minutes. Remove from frypan with a spatula and serve hot.

• 1 pound mixed wild and/or farmed mushrooms, sliced
• 1 shallot, peeled and sliced
• 1 tbsp. each of butter and olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup couscous
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans

Combine the olive oil and butter together in a frypan over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté until soft. Add in the mushrooms, beginning with the meatiest or denser mushrooms, and adding the more delicate mushrooms as the others begin to soften. Add salt and pepper to taste, then keep warm as you make the couscous. Put the couscous in a bowl and pour the boiling water on top. When the water has been absorbed, fluff with a fork, then stir in the mushroom mixture and pecans. You may want to add some chopped parsley, sprinkled on top, just before you serve. Serves 4 as an appetizer or side dish.