Champiñones al ajillo

Ingredients

• 12⅓ ozbutton mushroomscleaned; whole, halved, quartered or sliced depending on size
• 4 clovesgarlicpeeled, finely chopped or thinly sliced
• ¼ cupolive oilpreferably extra virgin, for frying
• 1 bunchparsleyfresh, finely chopped, for sprinkling
• 1lemonjuice; for cleaning the mushrooms and/or drizzling
• saltcoarse or flaky salt works well
• black pepperfreshly ground, to season (optional)
• ½ cupwhite wineto deglaze (optional)
• 1chilifor heat, fried with the garlic (optional)
• 8white breadslices, optionally toasted, for serving and dipping

Method

1. Clean the mushroomsClean the mushrooms: trim off the ends of the stalks, then brush them or wipe them with a damp cloth. If you'd rather wash them, give them a quick swirl in water with a little lemon juice, then dry them thoroughly so they fry rather than stew later on.
2. Cut the mushrooms evenlyDepending on their size, leave the mushrooms whole, halve them, quarter them or slice them, so the pieces end up roughly the same size.
3. Prepare garlic and parsleyPeel the garlic and chop it finely or cut it into thin slices. Finely chop the parsley and set it aside.
4. Fry the garlic in oilHeat the olive oil in a clay dish or a frying pan. Add the garlic, along with the dried chili if you're using it, and fry briefly until fragrant. Don't let it colour too much, or it will turn bitter.
5. Brown the mushroomsAdd the mushrooms, salt them and fry over medium to high heat until they're browned all over and the liquid they release has cooked off completely.
6. Deglaze if you likeIf you like, deglaze with white wine or a splash of lemon juice and let it bubble down briefly.
7. Season to tasteSeason to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and the rest of the lemon juice.
8. Garnish and serve hotScatter the parsley over the mushrooms and serve them very hot, ideally straight from the clay dish, with slices of white bread for dipping.

Tips and variations

In restaurant kitchens, the garlic, parsley, salt and oil are often stirred together ahead of time into a seasoning mix, which saves time at the stove. For a version on the plancha, grill whole mushroom caps and brush them with garlic and parsley oil pounded in a mortar. You can also braise the mushrooms, covered, with onion and white wine thickened with cornstarch, then spoon separately fried garlic over the top. Other good options: flavour the white wine with saffron and use chives instead of parsley, add a few Kalamata olives or a splash of vinegar at the end, or bring in chili for more heat. Slices of bread toasted in the oven are lovely alongside, soaking up all that garlic oil.