Champiñones Asados

If any of the readers of this blog have been to Spain (Jenny), and have had “Gambas Pil Pil”, then this will sound very familiar. “Gambas Pil Pil” is a tapa of shrimp sizzling in a cazuela lined with garlic-chili infused olive oil. It is served with bread to mop up the oil when finished. It is practically everywhere here in southern Spain. There is a similar treatment (thank goodness!) for a tapa of champiñones, or mushroms. My friends and I were walking last Saturday and I was craving this very dish, Champiñones Asados. The group consensus was to get montaditos for lunch, so my craving was pushed aside. (Sidenote: Montaditos translate literally to “little hills”, and are a teeny, tiny bocadillos. They are dinner-roll sized sandwiches stuffed with almost anything. My favorite is stuffed with tortilla and queso manchego. The perfect snack.)
The craving lasted all day. I decided to make this for dinner because I simply could not take it any longer. My friends stayed to try the experiment. I had bought chamiñones at the market and this was the perfect way to use them. How much easier could it be? Oil, garlic, chili, and mushrooms. I didn’t have a cazuela to use, so a regular skillet would have to do. I guess that means I must purchase a cazuela. Let me try to sound sad. (Note: If you wish to buy gambas to make “pil pil”, feel free to use them in place of the mushrooms. It is the same procedure, no doubt. Just check and make sure your shrimp do not become too tough. HA! Look at me writing about seafood like I know what I am talking about. Thanks, Food Network, for providing a vegetarian with culinary information I never thought I would need.

Materials:
Roughly 300-400 grams of white or button mushrooms
¼ of a cup of your best olive oil
2 small dried chilies*
3 cloves of garlic (or 1 per person if making more than this recipe)
Sea Salt
1 crusty Baguette
optional: Saffron (the golden rule: 1 long strand per person. Do you hear me, Charlie?)

This serves 3 people.

Preparation:
Wipe your mushrooms clean with a towel or rag. Discard the stems and slice them length-wise. Thinly slice your garlic cloves. Heat a skillet (or a cazuela if you own one) on medium-high heat. Add oil. Add a slice of garlic. When this piece gently sizzles you know your oil is the right temperature. Slice your chili* in small bits and add this (and the seeds) to your oil. Wash your hands. (After handling chili always wash your hands.) Let this simmer for about a minute. When you smell your garlic, add saffron (if using) and your mushrooms. Let simmer and stir occasionally for about 5-10 minutes. Add more oil if there is not enough coat on the bottom of your pan. Sprinkle generously with sea salt (less if cooking gambas) and serve in a hot dish or simply out of your cazuela, if using. Don’t forget to serve with thick, crusty bread. We had ours along side a mixture of olives and slices of queso currado.

*chili: Here in Spain it is very popular to use these tiny dried chili peppers sized to about a thumbnail called "guindillas". I was ambitious and used 4 chilies not knowing the heat strength. This was too much. Was it uncomfortable? No. But it was too much. And I can take heat. The flavor (when ordering it in the restaurants) is much more subtle. This was in your face. I would use 2, or maybe even simply 1 per person. It could have been fine with 4 if I had not used all the seeds perhaps. Either way, Mission: Success!