The Cheating Truffled Madeira Sauce

1/2 oz butter
1 long shallot or a small onion, peeled and chopped fine
1 small carrot, ditto
1 stick celery, ditto
3 - 4 brown mushrooms - about 1 1/2 ozs, sliced fine
A splash of oil (walnut or truffle are good)
small teaspoon of plain flour
about a wineglass full of Madeira (not dry)
half a glass red wine
dried thyme or oregano
1 dessertspoon dried porcini
1 tin beef or chicken consomme (Waitrose is very good)
less than 1" squeeze of tomato puree - or, better, sundried tom puree
2 teaspoons truffle paste

Cook the shallot, carrot and celery with the butter, oil and black pepper in a smallish pan till beginning to brown a little.  Be careful about salt at this stage - better to do it at the end.  Add the sliced mushrooms, cook three minutes or so and add the flour, stirring it in well.  Cook the flour for three minutes or so.  Add the Madeira and wine and boil fast for 3 or four minutes till all the alcohol has gone and the liquid has reduced by about 1/3rd.  Add the dried porcini, a good pinch of dried herb and the consomme.  Adjust the heat to a rolling simmer - no bubbles but plenty of movement - and leave to reduce by 2/3rds.  It should be thick enough to coat a spoon. Pour through a conical sieve into a bowl and stir in the truffle paste, taste, add salt and you are done.  Sometimes I fry a few sliced mushrooms and add them back at this stage, sometimes add double cream or creme fraiche, or both.  Occasionally if I want quite a rich sauce, I cut 1/2 oz butter into thin (3/8"?) slices, cube them, put them in the freezer on a plate at an early stage.  Reheat the sauce in a clean small pan and whisk in the frozen butter till it melts and the sauce goes glossy.

Very good over steaks or chops.