Champiñones Rellenos de Jamón Castellanos

Champiñones rellenos de jamón are Castilian bar cooking, from the inland larder that knows what to do with mushrooms, garlic, parsley, and a little cured ham. They are not a grand dish. Good. A mushroom cap holds a spoon of jamón sofrito, the slow onion base, and a quail egg sets on top just enough to tremble. That is plenty.

The method that decides them is not the filling. It is the mushroom. Roast the caps hollow-side down first, so they shed their water before you ask them to hold anything. Skip that and the tray floods, the filling slides, and you get a damp mouthful instead of a firm one. Ten minutes now saves the whole dish later.

If you are far from Spain, use a dry-cured ham cut thin and chopped small, not smoked ham. Prosciutto works at a pinch, though it is sweeter and softer than jamón serrano, so use a little less salt. No quail eggs where you are? Beat one hen's egg with a pinch of salt and spoon a teaspoon over each cap. It will not have the same little yolk, but it will set and hold the filling.

Keep the sofrito low until the onion is dark gold and sticky, then fold in the mushroom stems and jamón. My Margin beside this one says only, "cap primero," cap first. Sensible woman. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.