Mushrooms with commandaria

This is one of the easiest recipes ever; much of the value is in its inspiration rather than the method. I’d encourage you to do this your way too (let me know how you make it in the comments!).

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Originating from Cyprus, commandaria is most commonly known as the world’s oldest wine still in production (a ‘sweet wine of Cyprus’ being referenced as far back as the prehistoric period). It has a rich and mature sweetness to it that pairs perfectly with this dish, which is inspired by some of the most simple, yet disproportionately delicious dishes I’ve had in Cyprus.

I’ve been going to Cyprus for 20 years, annual summer holidays having become regular trips for family, weddings, life admin and (undeniably) always, food. Among the most memorable dishes of every trip is always a mushroom dish. Every time I leave Cyprus and look back on the most memorable dishes of that trip, my mind always goes to a mushroom dish – sometimes cooked with other ingredients, sometimes simply grilled by itself over charcoal, but always bursting with lively flavours and an meaty earthiness that I never tasted growing up in London. And I’ve never been much of a mushroom fan – the mushrooms were usually the only part of our family barbecues that I’d skip when I was young. Now, I always get back home trying to recreate the mushroom dishes I eat in Cyprus.

A simple frilled mushroom dish at Taverna 4307 in Lefkosia, Cyprus, topped with lemon and parsley. Simple, delicious, and cooked for just about the right amount of time until the mushrooms are soft and burst with their rich juices.

A single mushroom dish in Cyprus encapsulates everything that Cypriot, Greek, Mediterranean, Italian… etc. – and all good food, for that matter – is about. Dishes with less than a handful of ingredients but the flavour and depth of an entire kitchen pantry, all thanks to incredible, locally-sourced ingredients.

Foraged mushrooms at Symposio

Many of those memorable mushroom dishes over the years were at Symposio, up in the mountain village of Pelendri in the district of Limassol. Again, sometimes grilled, sometimes sautéed and stewed. Symposio in itself is a bastion of traditional, farm-to-table Cypriot cooking. Much of the ingredients come straight from the garden around the back of the restaurant, with many others ingredients that owner Nikos forages himself. Nikos’ ability to forage was a part of the reason why he made the decision to return back to nature and his home village when he opened Symposio here in 2008, after a couple of decades working in hospitality in seaside Pissouri.

Morchelles - true morels - are perhaps the single ingredient most symbolic of Symposio. Nikos forages them in the area around his taverna and often serves them cooked and sliced in a pasta dish, but he also forages mushrooms too. There are times that I’ve been to Symposio and eaten simple, grilled mushrooms that taste like they heal; bust most recently I was also blown away by a simple red mountain pine mushroom dish that Niko and his team make. Nikos forages the mushrooms in the mountains (κότισνα μανιτάρκα του πεύκου του βουνού in Cypriot), slices them and cooks them in red wine with onions (κρασάτα).

The single dish that most inspired this recipe, a few years ago at Symposio. Mushrooms with coriander seeds and spring onions.

A different version I ate recently at Symposio: red pine mushrooms, which Nikos forages from the mountains, with wine and onions.

Since then, I’ve tried to make mushrooms in a way that lets the ingredient take centre stage, and in a way that puts the emphasis on finding good ones. While testing this recipe, I used organic shiitake mushrooms that you can find easily in Western supermarkets, and that produce a perfect, silky-delicious result – and it still works. But, of course, the fresher, the tastier, and more locally-sourced the mushrooms are, the better this dish tastes (and the healthier it will be!). Shiitake mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, or similar, work well for a silky result, but you can use any mushrooms you like and add in onions too.

(Tip: If you’re adding onions, start with the coriander seeds, remove them, sweat the onions with some olive oil until softened, then add the toasted coriander seeds back in and continue as per the recipe below.)

Where to find good mushrooms

Those of you in the Mediterranean don’t need me to tell you to go to your wealth of regular farmers’ markets, or greengrocers and traders who work with small, independent organic producers. That, of course, is if you aren’t already growing your own or gifted home-grown produce from friends or family.

Londoners, while we might have to make use of the best produce we find at our local greengrocers and supermarkets most of the time, there are still ways to find good produce. If you have the time to head to New Spitalfields market (not to be confused with Old Spitalfields) one night, you’ll find a wealth of good produce there. Riverford continue to lead the conversation in preserving natural, sustainable, organic farming – free of pesticides and herbicides that we know harm us and our planet. I encourage you to order their produce on a regular basis (this is not an ad[!]).

In South London, Adi Staempfli holds a PhD but has transformed his love for cultivating mushrooms into Adi’s Urban Mushrooms and The South London Mushroom Club, a not-for-profit that occasionally holds mushroom growing workshops and foraging walks.

If you don’t have any good farm shops, farmers’ markets, or independent greengrocers near you, have you thought about growing your own mushrooms? I’d like to incorporate home-grown ingredients into Souvlakination recipes going forward – so please hold me to that if you don’t see it in the next couple of years!

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Mushrooms with Commandaria recipe

Ingredients:

Serves one/sharing meze

• 150g mushrooms, washed and drained

• Good quality extra virgin olive oil

• 1tsp coriander seeds

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1 small sprig of fresh rosemary

• 50ml commandaria

• Optional: finely sliced white onion

Method:

1. Rinse the mushrooms and remove to remove any grit and earth (better than I did here) and set aside to dry.

2. Toast the coriander seeds in a pan on a medium heat until they begin to release an aroma.

3. Add in a couple of tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil, a sprig of rosemary, and let it heat for a couple of minutes.

4. Finely chop and add in the garlic, then add in the mushrooms (whole) and season. Stir regularly and cook for about 10 minutes, until softened and golden-brown in parts.

5. Pour in the commandaria to deglaze the pan and let the alcohol simmer away for a couple of minutes. Cook for 5 more minutes, stirring regularly so that the mushrooms don’t catch. The mushrooms should now be soft but still have a good deal of texture.

6. Turn off the heat, and stir in a small knob of butter if you like.

7. Serve as a small sharing meze or as a single meal on a slice of crusty, toasted bread. Lightly drizzle with some more extra virgin olive oil and season to taste.