Grumpy’s Garlic Mushrooms Tapa
This recipe is one of the most highlighted by Kindle readers in Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools. It is a very traditional, totally delicious tapas dish.
Tapa means ‘lid’ or ‘cover’ in Spanish. It’s thought that the name originally came from the practice of placing slices of meat on top of a sherry glass, to keep out flies. The meat, often ham or chorizo, were characteristically salty, inducing thirst. Bartenders saw this and began serving a variety of tapas which increased alcohol sales. Thus a new tradition was born.
Grumpy’s Garlic Mushrooms
Perfect for barbecues!
Serves 4
- 50ml (2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil
- 250g (8oz) fresh mushrooms sliced or button
- 4-6 cloves of garlic (chopped or sliced)
- 3 tablespoons dry Spanish sherry
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Large pinch of dried chili flakes
- Large pinch of paprika
- Salt, freshly ground pepper
- Chopped parsley to garnish
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the mushrooms over a high heat for 2 or 3 minutes. Stir constantly.
Lower the heat and add the garlic, lemon juice, sherry, salt and pepper.
For a milder flavour you can leave it at that if you like. But if you like a few ‘fireworks’, now is the time to add the dried chili and paprika as well.
Cook for another 5 minutes or so until the garlic and mushrooms have softened then remove from the heat.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and divide up into pre-heated little dishes.
Serve with plenty of fresh, crusty bread to mop up the seriously garlicky juices.