A deluxe version of sautéed mushrooms, often served on small plates in tapas bars. This is a wonderful starter for a sitdown dinner, but be sure to serve it with plenty of bread; you will want it to sop up the sauce.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 tablespoons butter

　　2 garlic cloves, minced

　　1 pound button or other mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

　　1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

　　2 tablespoons Fino, Amontillado, or Manzanilla sherry

　　3/4 cup Beef Stock (page 160)

　　1 small dried hot red chile, crumbled, or 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

　　

Step 1

Put the butter in a deep skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and are beginning to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice, sherry, stock, and chile to the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, or until the liquid is quite syrupy and nearly evaporated.

　　

Step 2

Season with salt and pepper, garnish with parsley, and serve with crusty bread. Or let sit for a while and then reheat.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.