It’s mushroom season here in Spain. This year it took a while for it to arrive because of the drought, but it finally did. An excellent opportunity to make a delicious starter or appetizer with mushrooms. This recipe for marinated mushrooms on toast, a mostly classic escabeche, is by Mr. José Andrés. He advises to use a mixture of wild mushrooms, but I happened to find some wild porcini mushrooms at my greengrocers that I could not overlook and I had to make me some boletus escabechados. So cute and chubby they were, these boletus… and they looked at me with their tiny boletus eyes… But I took them by the hand, carried them home and cook them all the same. I was merciless, just like the Walrus and the Carpenter with the oysters.
I’m really nuts about marinades and escabeches, this great method of food preservation which was apparently introduced by the Arabs in the Iberian peninsula, so I have quite a few of them on the blog. This marinated mushroom recipe is different in that the marinade sauce carries grated tomato, which adds a very tasty touch. Also, admittedly, porcini mushrooms are quite more flavorful than the regular and ubiquitous button mushrooms, at least the cultivated varieties which lack any forest aroma. 
School of Tapas: Marinated mushrooms on toast
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
Description
Marinated porcini mushrooms in a tangy escabeche of tomato, onion, olive oil, and spices, served on crispy toast for a delightful Spanish appetizer.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh porcini mushrooms or any other flavorful wild mushroom
- 2 medium tomatoes, grated
- 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup Sherry vinegar
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 allspice berries
- 3-4 thyme sprigs
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Toasted bread slices, for serving
Instructions
- Clean the mushrooms and cut them into slices. It’s recommended to clean them with a damp paper towel to avoid them becoming mushy.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the grated tomatoes to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the Sherry vinegar, bay leaf, allspice berries, and thyme sprigs. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and gently stir to coat them in the marinade. Cook for 5 minutes, ensuring the mushrooms are well covered with the sauce.
- Remove the pan from heat and let the mushrooms cool in the marinade.
- Transfer the mushrooms and marinade to a container and refrigerate for at least 24 hours to allow the flavors to develop.
- Serve the marinated mushrooms on slices of toasted bread, allowing the juices to soak into the bread.
Notes
For best flavor, let the mushrooms marinate for at least 24 hours. The escabeche can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. Use a variety of wild mushrooms for a more complex flavor. Serve on toasted bread to soak up the delicious marinade.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Spanish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 2
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 18
- Carbohydrates: 4
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 0
Like all escabeches and marinades, it’s best to let it stand for at least one day to allow for the flavors to settle and develop. This escabeche will last several weeks in perfect condition in the refrigerator, but that is if you don’t eat it before that. The marinade sauce is simply superb, great for dunking bread as we love to do in Spain. These marinated mushrooms are delicious served on a good slice of toasted bread, letting the juices soak through…
Try another great Spanish recipe – Padron Peppers – here.
qué buena tapa, estoy algo a aburrida de las tapas habituales y esta me parece fantástica. Voy a intentar prepararla a ver que tal me sale.
Gracias por compartirla
Lovely appetiser, and tapa idea Miriam. I am a journalist living and working in the Madrid Capital. Wonderful eduli boletus, and niscalos, and trumphets would be phenomenal with this Tosta.
( canapé ) …
Feliz Navidad,
Happy Holidays,
Margaux Cintrano.