Spanish Garlic Mushrooms with Sherry

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A tapas-bar side that lives or dies on browning. The mushrooms go into a bone-dry ripping-hot skillet first, so their water hisses off instead of stewing them, and only then do they meet olive oil, sliced garlic and a splash of dry sherry that lifts every browned bit off the pan. Ten minutes from cold pan to crusty bread mopping the plate.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb cremini mushrooms (or a mix of cremini and oyster)
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt

• 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
• 1/3 cup dry sherry (fino or amontillado) or dry Madeira
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tsp sherry vinegar

• 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• flaky sea salt
• crusty bread, for serving

Instructions

1. Wipe the mushrooms clean with a dry towel — do not rinse them, since surface water is the enemy of browning. Trim the stem ends and halve small mushrooms, quarter larger ones so every piece is roughly 1 1/2 inches. Tear oyster mushrooms into wide strips if using. Spread them on a towel-lined tray while you prep the garlic, parsley and lemon zest.
2. Set a 12-inch stainless steel or cast-iron skillet over high heat with no oil in it. Let it heat 2 to 3 minutes, until a drop of water flicked in skitters and evaporates in about a second.
3. Add the mushrooms to the dry pan in a single crowded layer and press them down with a spatula. Leave them completely alone for 3 minutes: they will squeak, release liquid, then start to sizzle as it boils off.
4. Stir once and continue cooking over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes more, stirring only every 60 seconds or so, until the pan is dry and the mushrooms are shrunken with deep mahogany edges. If they still look wet at 4 minutes, keep going — do not add fat until the hissing quiets.
5. Reduce heat to medium-high. Pour in the olive oil and add the kosher salt; toss to coat. Cook 1 minute, letting the mushrooms absorb the oil and darken another shade.
6. Push the mushrooms to the edges of the pan, drop the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes into the center, and cook 45 to 60 seconds, stirring the garlic in the oil until it smells sweet and turns pale gold. Do not let it brown past straw color or it will taste bitter.
7. Sprinkle in the smoked paprika, stir for 10 seconds only, then immediately pour in the sherry. It will boil hard — scrape the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to lift every browned bit, and simmer 1 to 2 minutes until the liquid reduces to a few glossy tablespoons.
8. Kill the heat. Add the butter and sherry vinegar and swirl the pan until the butter melts into a thin, shiny sauce that clings to the mushrooms, about 30 seconds.
9. Fold in the parsley and lemon zest. Taste and add more salt if needed. Slide into a warm shallow bowl, finish with flaky sea salt, and serve immediately with crusty bread for the pan juices.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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