

The lovely mealy flavour of St George’s mushrooms works particularly well with white meats and cream. I have tried to harness both of these with this tasty little starter. Or try it as an unusual canapé – the perfect nibble to accompany a crisp white wine as the sun sets on a spring evening.

1 Clove garlic
½ Small onion, finely chopped
250g St George’s (roughly chopped)
1 cup Shredded cooked chicken leftovers
100g Parmesan (grated)
1 tbspn Flour
1 tspn Dijon mustard
150g Single cream
150g Milk
75g Butter
1 pack Frozen vol-au-vent cases
Cook the vol-au-vent cases according to the instructions (you can make your own of course, but I find it too much of a fiddle when the whole point is to have a tasty nibble with the minimum of fuss). Lightly sauté the garlic, onion, mushrooms and chicken (if used) in a little of the butter. Meanwhile, make a roux by melting the rest of the butter, stirring in the flour and mustard. When this has formed a thick paste, slowly stir in the milk, then the cream over a very low heat. Add the Parmesan and the mushroom mixture and season to taste. Leave to cool and then put a dollop in each vol-au-vent case. Garnish with a little chopped parsley, tarragon, chives, ramsoms or whatever takes your fancy and serve warm.
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