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Champiñones rellenos

MAKES 12
80g/3oz butter, plus extra for greasing
25g/1oz breadcrumbs (made from day-old bread)
3–4 tablespoons warm milk
12 large, fresh mushrooms
Juice of ½ lemon
50g/2oz Serrano ham, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper

〉〉 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Generously grease an ovenproof dish with butter. Put the breadcrumbs in a bowl, add the milk and leave the breadcrumbs to soak. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and chop them. Reserve the mushroom caps.

〉〉 Put the stalks in a saucepan with 25g/1oz of the butter and the lemon juice and season with salt. Place the pan over a low heat and cook gently for ten minutes.

〉〉 Put the mushroom caps, gill sides up, in a single layer in the prepared dish and dot with the remaining butter. Bake for ten minutes.

〉〉 Meanwhile, drain the breadcrumbs if they have not absorbed all the milk. Mix together the mushroom stalks, breadcrumbs, ham and parsley in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture among the mushroom caps and return them to the oven for about 30 minutes.

〉〉 If the tops have not lightly browned, place the mushrooms under a preheated grill for the last ten minutes of cooking. Serve immediately, straight from the dish.