Champiñones al ajillo (tapas)- Garlic Mushrooms

One of our favorite tapas from our time in Spain – garlic mushrooms are easy to make and always popular.  Let’s just say I’ve never had leftovers.   As for the ham – prosciutto or serrano are ideal.  In this case I’ve used finely diced and browned Polish lardon, in a pinch I’ve also used sliced ham from the deli.

We’ve made these so many times, but they’ve been out of the rotation lately.  Until Bill mentioned that he’s looking forward to having them when he visits Madrid next week.  That got us going again.

Ingredients

White button mushrooms
garlic, minced
parsley, chopped
ham, diced
lemon juice
olive oil
kosher salt

Directions

• Clean the mushrooms as you usually do.  I know they say you should never use water on mushrooms, but I do.  I rinse them cap side up, rubbing them to remove any soil.  After all, it rains in the forest.
• Remove the stems.

Polish mushrooms – about to become Spanish mushrooms

• Place in each mushroom cap a small bit of garlic 2 or 3 pieces of a fine dice, a small sprinkle of parsley, and a few pieces of diced ham.  The opening will not be completely full.
• Lightly drizzle each mushroom with lemon juice and olive oil – just 2 or 3 drops of each in every mushroom cap.
• Lightly coat a large frying pan with olive oil.  Transfer the mushrooms to the pan and cook over medium low heat, covered for about 15 minutes.