Champiñones al Ajillo

Recipe from Penelope Casas The Foods & Wines of Spain

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 and 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 cup beef broth, preferably homemade
1/2 dried red chili pepper, cut in 3 pieces, seeds removed
2 tablespoons chopped parsely
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 pound mushrooms, whole or halved

In a skillet heat the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil until the garlic starts to color. Turn off the heat immediately; the garlic should not turn brown. Stir in the flour and cook a minute. Gradually pour in the beef broth, then add the chili pepper, 1 tablespoon of the parsely, and the lemon juice. Stir until smooth and thickened.

In a separate skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of the oil until it is very hot. Add the mushrooms and stir fry briefly until the mushrooms are lightly browned. Add the mushrooms to the sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of parsely and serve.

Mushroom, Cheddar and Chive Quiche

Recipe adapted from Breakfast, Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery

For the pastry: 
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, cut into pieces, plus extra for greasing pan
1 egg yolk, broken up

For the filling: 
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
2 cups light cream
Pinch of grated nutmeg
2 cups grated Cheddar
3 tablespoons chopped chives.

Make the pastry: In a food processor, combine the flour, salt and butter so that some pieces of butter are left, about 8 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add half the egg yolk and 1/4 cup ice water. Stir quickly with a fork to bring the ingredients together, adding more water as needed. (If using margarine, less water may be required to moisten the dough.) When the fork cannot do any more, use your hands just to bring the dough together. Do not knead or press the dough; simply gather up the dry parts as quickly as possible. Wrap the dough in plastic film and chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 8 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 11-inch round tart pan with butter. Dust a work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll the dough to 1/8-inch thick, lifting and turning so that it does not stick to the surface. Ease the dough into the pan and up the sides, without stretching. Trim excess dough and chill for 30 minutes. Cover with foil and lay beans or pie weights on the foil. Bake until the pastry begins to turn golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Prepare the filling: In a frying pan, heat the oil and sauté the mushrooms and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms have darkened and all the liquid released from them has evaporated. Season to taste. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs to break them up, then add the cream, a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg and beat until combined.

Place the cooled tart on a sheet pan. Scatter the cheese over the base of the pastry shell. Place the mushrooms over the cheese, then pour as much of the egg-and-cream mixture as you can without it spilling over the top. Sprinkle with chives and carefully transfer to the oven. Bake until the filling has set and is lightly golden, 35 to 45 minutes. Serves 8 as a main course.

Broccoli Stir-Fry With Chicken and Mushrooms

Recipe from The New York Times

2 tablespoons good-quality vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 scallions, chopped
1 pound broccoli, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces, the stems no more than 1/4-inch thick
8 ounces button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
Salt
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch chunks or thin slices and blotted dry
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper.

Put a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add half the oil, swirl it around, and immediately add half the garlic and ginger. Cook for 15 seconds, stirring, then add the broccoli, mushrooms and all but a sprinkling of the scallions. Raise heat to high, and cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their water and broccoli is bright green and beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with salt; add 1 cup water. Stir and cook until almost all liquid evaporates and broccoli is almost tender, another minute or two more, then transfer everything to a plate.

Turn heat to medium, add remaining oil, then remaining garlic and ginger. Stir, then add chicken and turn heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken has lost its pink color, three to five minutes.

Turn heat to medium. Return broccoli, mushrooms and juices to the pan, and stir. Add soy sauce, sprinkle with more salt and some pepper; add a little more water if mixture is dry. Raise heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced slightly and you’ve scraped up all the bits of chicken. Taste and adjust seasoning, garnish with remaining scallion and serve.

Notes

Stir-fries work with virtually any combination of vegetables; protein-dense food (meat, poultry, fish, tofu, etc.) is optional. Use pork (like shoulder), shrimp, beef (like sirloin), or tofu instead of chicken; slice the meat thinly or the tofu into cubes.

Use cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, snow peas, carrots or spinach in place of either the broccoli or the mushrooms or both. Or use other mushrooms.

Use fish sauce instead of soy sauce and finish with a squeeze of lime to give it a Southeast Asian flavor.

Use olive oil, skip the ginger, use onion instead of scallion, and substitute 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary or thyme to give it a Mediterranean flavor profile.

Use coconut milk instead of stock; 1 tablespoon curry powder instead of soy sauce to give it an Indian flavor.