Recipe: Andalusian Spiced Mushrooms

Recipe Source: Wright, Clifford A.  Little Foods of the Mediterranean.  The Harvard Common Press, Boston 2003 p. 47.

 

  Recently, my husband and I held a dinner party for a group of our friends.  We host these on a semi-regular basis and they center around our ceramic cooker/smoker/barbeque, the Big Green Egg.  They're always fun, at least for me, because I get to cook a bunch of side dishes.  I knew that I wanted to serve a hot appetizer in addition to just cheese and crackers, so I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks for a suggestion.  I also knew that I wanted to repeat my experiment with toasting bread on the Egg.  This recipe gave me the opportunity for both. 

 

I did make several changes.  First, the original recipe called for fried bread and called for that bread to be fried in pork lard.  I've never been comfortable with lard.  I know it's great for pastry, and I know it's used frequently in Mexican and Spanish cuisines - both types of food I adore.  Still, the idea of bringing it into my home and using it, especially in a non-pastry situation, just feels creepy to me.  I guess I've bought into the whole "healthy" thing.  Anyway, I decided to substitute olive oil.  Also, I knew that I didn't want to fry the bread, I wanted to grill it.  I therefore infused some oil with garlic, dipped the bread in it and grilled it.  I used baby bella mushrooms instead of white button mushrooms, and whole wheat baguette.  Finally, I doubled the recipe because we were going to be serving quite a few people.  Since we did this after smoking a brisket, the smoke really infused the bread with a lovely flavor that even retained a little of that meat smell.  I don't mind telling you that there were absolutely no leftovers of this bread. 

 

Andalusian Spiced Mushrooms (serves 10; approx. cost per serving not available)

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 head garlic, cloves peeled and separated

2 lb baby bella mushrooms, quartered

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

2 whole wheat baguettes, sliced

Equipment:

• Saute pan
• Sauce pan
• Garlic press
• Grill or smoker

1. Pour the 2 cups olive oil into the saucepan.
2. Crush the garlic cloves with the garlic press into the oil.
3. Heat the oil slowly over low heat and allow to warm until the oil is fragrant with the scent of the garlic.
4. Remove the oil from heat, allow it to cool and strain it into a bowl.  If you're averse to food waste, save the garlic and throw it into some mashed potatoes or spread it onto some bread at a later date. 
5. In the saute pan, heat the 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
6. Add the mushrooms, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms have given up most of their juices, about 20 minutes.
7. Prepare your grill for medium-high heat.  We did this after smoking a brisket, so we did this while the brisket was resting.
8. Dip the slices of baguette into the garlic oil, making sure to get both sides with the oil.  Grill until toasted - time depends on your grill.
9. Arrange the toasted slices on the serving platter.  Top with mushrooms and serve.

 

Technorati Tags: Appetizers,recipes,mushrooms,toast,smoked bread,Clifford Wright

Comments

[Peter]

Nice...I'm a big fan of cumin and paprika makes everything better, don't it?

[Fearless Kitchen]

Paprika is a great pick-me-up for a lot of things.

[kellypea]

This sounds really tasty. We love to grill mushrooms, but I haven't tried the cumin/paprika combo before. We're sort of in a garlic, olive oil, shallots, etc. rut with ours. Funny you should mention your feelings about lard. I've been reading a lot of Rick Bayless and he mentioned your sentiments exactly. I agree that olive oil was the great choice for your mushrooms. Very nice.

[momgateway]

Very helpful and simple. Thanks!

[Fearless Kitchen]

Momgateway - Thanks! It was pretty simple, which is always good.