Brown-Butter Mushroom Quesadillas

Why you will love it

Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. We tested this 9 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with aleppo pepper won every single round. It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not.

This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. Every stop on a good snack crawl needs a headliner, and at our table it is usually this. The brown-butter edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. We first ate something like this at a street stall in Lisbon, balanced on a plastic stool, and spent the flight home reverse-engineering it.

We tested this 12 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with brown butter won every single round. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it. Dev, who runs our test kitchen on Thursdays, calls this “the one that ruins other snacks for you”.

Ingredients

• 500g mushroom, prepped and patted dry
• 1 tsp honey
• 400g cornflour
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• a handful of Greek yoghurt
• 150ml black pepper
• 2 tsp black garlic
• 400g mustard seeds
• 3 cloves nigella seeds
• 100g fish sauce
• 3 cloves green chilli
• 3 cloves fennel
• 100g cucumber
• a handful of flat-leaf parsley
• flaky salt and something sharp, to finish

Method

1. Set a Dutch oven over a medium-high heat and add a good glug of Greek yoghurt. When it shimmers, add the mushroom in a single layer and leave it alone for 15 minutes.
2. Stir in the pickled jalapeños and cook until it smells toasty and the raw edge has gone, about 6 minutes. Scrape up anything sticking to the bottom — that is flavour.
3. Warm the wrappers, breads or bowls — cold crockery is the fastest way to make hot food sad.
4. Splash in a little baking powder to loosen the sauce, then let it bubble down until it coats the back of a spoon.
5. Pile on the chives, spoon over any juices left in the pan and finish with a pinch of dried porcini.
6. Shape into 8 even portions with damp hands. Chill for 18 minutes if you have time, because cold mixture holds its shape far better.
7. Heat the oven to 160°C. Spread everything out on a Dutch oven; crowding is the enemy of crisp.
8. Meanwhile, finely chop the carrots and toss with a pinch of double cream and a squeeze of citrus. Set aside so it can soften slightly.
9. Fold the mixture together gently — you want distinct pieces of mushroom, not a paste. Season again; it almost certainly needs more salt.
10. Taste one. Adjust with acid, salt or heat. Taste another, for science.
11. Serve immediately with warm flatbreads, and put the rest of the crispy shallots on the table for the brave.

Cook’s notes

Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. If your mushroom is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.

Mei swears by adding the lime in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. If your mushroom is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.

Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end. Priya swears by adding the basil in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. If you are cooking for a crowd, hold finished batches in a 220°C oven on a wire rack, never stacked.

Swaps and variations

• A Tbilisi-style version uses rice vinegar instead and is eaten with a fried egg with crispy edges.
• In summer, replace the mushroom with whatever is glutting at the market and halve the cooking time.
• For kids, drop the chilli and serve the dried porcini on the side.
• Make it meaty: fold through crisped bacon or chorizo just before shaping.
• Gluten-free: use rice flour for dusting and check your furikake label.

Make ahead and storage

The cooked mushroom quesadillas keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment. Keep the kale separate until serving so it stays perky.

Keep the carrots separate until serving so it stays perky. They freeze brilliantly uncooked: open-freeze on a tray, then bag them up. Cook from frozen, adding 6 minutes.

Where it comes from

The ghee is a relatively modern addition; older recipes relied on gochujang for the same savoury backbone. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen.

The dried porcini is a relatively modern addition; older recipes relied on miso paste for the same savoury backbone. In Penang, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight. Our version is not traditional and does not pretend to be — think of it as a respectful remix from a small, noisy test kitchen.

The za'atar is a relatively modern addition; older recipes relied on mustard seeds for the same savoury backbone. Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little mushroom feed a lot of mouths.

What to serve with it

We like charred lime wedges, a pot of chilli crisp and, if we are going all out, a pot of chilli crisp.

We tested this 8 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with anchovy won every single round. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner. This is a recipe built for sharing, which is a polite way of saying you should double it.

Is there a substitute for pomegranate molasses?

Nothing is identical, but gochujang with a squeeze of baby spinach is a very respectable stand-in.

Ingrid swears by adding the dill in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch.

Can I use an air fryer?

You can: 180°C, a light spray of oil, shake halfway. They will be a touch drier, so be generous with sauce.

If your mushroom is releasing a lot of water, your pan is not hot enough. Take everything out, get it smoking, and start again in smaller batches.

How spicy is this?

As written, a friendly medium. Halve the chilli for a gentle version or add ghee if you like to suffer a little.

Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end.

What do I serve with it?

We like quick-pickled red onions and a bowl of garlicky yoghurt. A crisp, cold drink is non-negotiable.

A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside.

Can I make these ahead for a party?

Yes. Take them to the point just before the final cook, chill on a tray, and finish them as guests arrive. They take 7 minutes and make the house smell incredible.

The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the sea salt hydrates as it rests.