Champiñones al Ajillo, Spanish Garlic Mushrooms
Champiñones al ajillo, mushrooms cooked hard with a lot of garlic, is one of the standard tapas of any Spanish bar, usually swimming in olive oil with a dried guindilla chile for heat. The trick to making it without the oil is to treat the mushrooms right first: seared dry in a hot pan, they brown and concentrate into something meaty and savory, and only then do the garlic and chile go in. A splash of sherry vinegar deglazes the pan into a quick sauce that carries all the browned flavor. Mushrooms are cheap, and a pound of them cooks down into a small, intense plate that eats like far more. Serve it as a tapa with something to soak up the pan sauce, or spoon it over grains or greens as a side.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Cremini mushrooms, halved or quartered
- 6 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp Sherry vinegar
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
- 1/4 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Heat a wide pan over high and add the mushrooms to the dry surface, cut side down, without crowding. Cook them undisturbed until they release their water and it boils away, then let them sear and brown, about 8 minutes. A dry pan forces the mushrooms to steam off their moisture and then caramelize, which is the deep flavor oil-cooked mushrooms get from browning in fat.
- Push the mushrooms to the side, add a tablespoon of water and the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes to the clearing, and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Cooking the garlic in a splash of water rather than oil lets it turn sweet and golden without any risk of it scorching in a hot dry pan.
- Stir the smoked paprika through off the direct heat for a few seconds. Paprika burns and turns bitter in an instant on high heat, so take the pan down before it goes in and let it bloom in the residual warmth.
- Return to the heat, add the sherry vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water, and toss for a minute until it forms a glossy pan sauce that coats the mushrooms. The vinegar hitting the hot pan lifts all the browned flavor off the bottom, which is the savory backbone of the dish in place of salt.
- Take off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, parsley, and black pepper, and serve at once while hot. This is a tapa, meant to be eaten straight from the pan with the sauce, so bring it to the table sizzling.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 60 calories, 4 g protein, 2 g fiber, 15 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
