Garlic mushrooms

Champiñón al ajillo is a classic bar snack/tapa that you'll find pretty much anywhere in Spain. It's quick, easy to prepare and is open to all sorts of "adjustments". This is a typical version with a couple of my own modifications.

Ingredients

• 12 medium sized button mushrooms, cleaned and halved
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp onion, minced
• 3 tbsp olive oil (more if needed)
• 1 tsp smokey Spanish pimentón (spicy or mild)
• 3 tbsp fino dry sherry
• Salt
• 1 tsp sherry vinegar or lemon juice

Preparation

• Heat oil on medium in a frying pan, add onion & garlic, sautee until fragrant
• Add pimentón and stir in the mushrooms, cook on medium until the mushrooms take on a little color. Be careful not to burn the garlic & pimentón; once the mushrooms start to shrink and release liquid, it won't burn.
• Add fino sherry, stir and cook until the mushrooms are a nice golden brown (raise the heat a little if needed)
• Adjust salt, splash on vinegar, cook for a minute or two and it's done.

Note:
1. Any size mushrooms will work: small whole, medium halved, large quartered.
2. Onion is not generally used, but adds extra flavor and helps keep the garlic & pimentón from burning and becoming bitter.
3. Most recipes include chopped fresh parsley, but it's not popular in our house so we leave it out. Chives work.
4. Make it spicy with red pepper flakes, add crispy bacon... the list goes on.
5. The fino sherry adds great flavor and the acidic kick of lemon or vinegar makes a difference. Cider vinegar is a decent substitute.

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