| 1 | If you"re making the coutes, it"s a good idea to get them done in advance and out of the way. |
| 2 | You can fry them, but i think they"re much nicer baked to a crisp golden crunchiness in a slow oven. |
| 3 | Set the oven to 150 c (300°F, gas mark 2). |
| 4 | Stamp circles in the bread with a large pastry cutter; spread on both sides with butter and put them on a baking sheet. |
| 5 | Bake for 1 hour, or until completely crisp and golden. |
| 6 | Cool. |
| 7 | These will keep in a tin for a few days. |
| 8 | To prepare the mushrooms, cut off any stalks so that the surface is level, then wash the mushrooms and pat them dry on kitchen paper. |
| 9 | Fry them on both sides with olive oil and drain well. |
| 10 | Season them with salt and pepper, then leave on one side while you make the stuffing. |
| 11 | Melt the butter in a medium-large saucepan. |
| 12 | Add the onion and fry for about 7 minutes, until soft. |
| 13 | Chop up any pieces of mushroom stalk, add these and cook for a minute or two longer. |
| 14 | Remove from the heat and add the cooked chestnuts, breaking them up a bit as you do so to make a mixture which holds together but has some chunky bits in it. |
| 15 | Add a dash of fresh lemon juice, and salt, pepper and grated nutmeg to taste. |
| 16 | To serve the dish, preset the oven to 200 c (400°F, gas mark 6), or preheat the grill to high. |
| 17 | Put the croutes on a baking sheet or in a shallow casserole, then place a mushroom on each one, black side up. |
| 18 | Spooon the stuffing mixture on top. |
| 19 | Bake or grill until heated through -- about 10 minutes under the grill, 15-20 minutes in the oven. |
| 20 | [note from karen: there"s a gorgeous photo of this dish in the book. |
| 21 | The stuffed mushrooms are each garnished with three or four extremely thin slivers of lemon peel. |
| 22 | Looks absolutely beautiful.] |
