Champignons a la grecque

Buy button mushrooms as white and as small as possible. Remove the stems -- keep them for stock -- and quarter the mushrooms if they are too big.

Bruised or older mushrooms can be peeled to reveal the white flesh underneath, but fresh very white mushrooms are better.

Cut a small square of muslin or cheese cloth and make a flavour sachet: the garlic, a little thyme, a fragment of bay leaf, the coriander seeds and the black peppercorns, twisted up and tied with string like a bouquet garni.

Juice half a lemon and dice the onions thinly.

In a saucepan at temperature, cook the onions gently in a little olive oil with no colouring at all, about three minutes on low heat -- this dish must keep its whiteness.

Add all the mushrooms, toss them gently through the onions and keep the heat very low so nothing browns.

Add the lemon juice, which keeps the colour, then the white wine, then a little salt, and mix well.

The water in the mushrooms comes out as it warms; with other mushrooms, add a little water.

Stir in a tablespoon of tomato paste for colour.

Bury the sachet under the mushrooms.

Hold it at a slight boil and cook 15 minutes, so the aromatics diffuse into the sauce and the sauce reduces to a syrup that glazes the mushrooms rather than swamping them.

Optional: a little pinch of sugar tones down the acidity of the wine and lemon.

Off the heat, add a good drizzle of olive oil to turn the reduced juices into a dressing, lift out the sachet and transfer everything to a porcelain dish.

Refrigerate overnight; the resting time is what makes the dish, and without it the mushroom flavour is not developed.

Take it out and leave it at room temperature a good 30 to 40 minutes before serving.

Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, or a little sugar, and drizzle over fresh lemon juice for tang.

Serve cold or at room temperature as a side, on toasted bread, or alongside fish or grilled meat.

Variation: the same method works with artichoke hearts, cauliflower and courgettes.