Nigella's Mushroom Ragoût

~ Saute one finely chopped white onion, one red onion and two stalks of thinly sliced celery in a pan with one teaspoon olive oil and one tablespoon butter.

~ When they begin to soften, add three chopped cloves garlic, some salt and pepper.

~ As the garlic and onions brown, add 90ml red wine, 35ml marsala, a bay leaf and half a teaspoon of thyme.

~ Simmer gently until the wine boils away.

~ In a separate pan, saute 800g mushrooms in two teaspoons of olive oil and two or three tablespoons of butter.

~ Add some salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

~ When they colour, add 85ml red wine and 40ml marsala.

~ Allow the wine to cook down, then add the onions.

~ Melt one tablespoon of butter in a pan, add one tablespoon of flour and stir for a few minutes while it browns.

~ Then whisk in 500ml of hot vegetable stock.

~ Add this sauce to the mushrooms, add three tablespoons of parsley and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

This provides four modest-sized portions or two greedy portions.

* Recipe taken from: Lawson, Nigella (1999) How To Eat  London: Chatto & Windus *