Mushrooms á la Grecque

I am very fond of this simple, classic salad. It'll keep for a while in a fridge and makes a smashing starter just served on a plate piled up with a twist of thinly sliced Parma ham. I often make this recipe with 1/4 of the ingredients as a side salad for 2 people, in which case I'll usually quarter the mushrooms (hence the piccie) but ideally it should be made with smaller button mushrooms left whole.

Ingredients

• 450ml water
• 100ml olive oil
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• Salt (a good pinch)
• 18 black peppercorns
• 18 fennel seeds
• 12 coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp chopped curly parsley
• 2 shallots, chopped finely
• 500g button mushrooms (2 punnets)
• 3cm celery, chopped

You don't have to go around counting seeds, just a few pinches here and there depending on how strong you like your spicy flavours. Put everything in a pan apart from the mushrooms and bring it to a boil, reducing to a lively simmer for about 10-12 minutes. Wipe the mushrooms and trim the stalks, then add them into the pan and cook them for another 10 minutes or so. Lift out the mushrooms and slip 'em into the serving dish of your choice, then boil down the cooking liquid, stirring it, until you've got 80-100ml of emulsified liquid left in the pan. Strain this over the mushrooms and chill until you're ready to serve them.