Suya-Spiced Roasted Mushrooms
Suya is Nigerian and wider West African street food, thin skewers of meat coated in yaji, a rust-colored rub of ground roasted peanuts, ginger, and chile, then grilled hard over coals. The peanut is not a garnish, it is the point, melting into the surface as the skewer cooks. Meaty cremini mushrooms take that rub well, and roasting them at high heat until they shrink and brown gives the char and concentration the grill would. Ground peanut carries the fat, smoked paprika carries the smoke, and lime and raw onion carry the finish.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb Cremini mushrooms, halved, or quartered if large
- 1/3 cup Peanuts, roasted, finely ground
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 2 cloves Garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp Lime juice
- 1/2 whole Red onions, thinly sliced, to serve
Method
- Roast the mushrooms cut-side down on a lined tray at 450 F (230 C) for 22 to 25 minutes, without stirring, until deeply browned and shrunk by half. High dry heat drives out their water and concentrates the savory flavor, so they taste roasted rather than steamed, and no oil is involved.
- Make the yaji while they roast: grind the roasted peanuts to a coarse meal, then mix with the smoked paprika, cayenne, ground ginger, and garlic. Grinding your own peanuts keeps the fat as a whole food, and the smoked paprika stands in for the color and smoke palm oil usually brings.
- Toss the mushrooms in the yaji the moment they come out of the oven. Their surface is still damp and steaming, and that residual moisture is exactly what makes the dry rub cling with no oil to bind it.
- Finish with lime and a tangle of raw onion. Suya is always served with lime and sliced onion, the sharp acid and bite cutting straight through the peanut richness.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 130 calories, 6 g protein, 4 g fiber, 25 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.
