Cruz Mushrooms with Spicy Spanish Sauce
/Penelope Cruz always brings a fiery Spanish flavour to her roles, and this includes her turn in Nine. Using anchovies as flavouring is an integral part of Spanish cooking. The smaller the bread toasts, the more you can make.
Ingredients
Spanish Pesto:
- 2 tablespoons chopped anchovies
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
- 2 cups packed parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water or more if needed
- Mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound (500 grams) cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 6 slices Portuguese cornbread or sourdough loaf
Method
Place anchovies, garlic, paprika, parsley, olive oil and water in a food processor and process until mixture resembles a loose pesto. Reserve.
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add oil and mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms have softened and are golden, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in pesto, reserving ¼ cup to brush the bread. Cook together until sauce is hot. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Return mushroom mixture to food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
Toast bread and brush with sauce. Heap mushrooms onto toasts. A little arugula on top makes a nice garnish. Serves 6.