Herby Mushroom Quesadillas

Why you will love it

It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate. The trick with mushroom quesadillas is patience: let the mushroom take on proper colour before you even think about moving it. If you can chop lime and hold a digital thermometer, you can make this. We promise. We like to make the filling the night before, when the kitchen is quiet and nobody is asking what is for dinner.

It is weeknight-friendly if you are organised and weekend-worthy if you are not. 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. It reheats well, travels well, and disappears at parties at a frankly alarming rate.

The herby edge is what people remember, so be brave with the heat and generous with the seasoning. There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are mushroom quesadillas — the kind you clear your evening for. Yusuf, 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 caster sugar
• 100g Greek yoghurt
• a thumb of cider vinegar
• 3 cloves soy sauce
• 1 tbsp breadcrumbs
• 150ml dried porcini
• 100g capers
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 400g yuzu juice
• 1 tbsp ginger
• 2 tbsp carrots
• a thumb of garlic
• 3 cloves spring onions
• flaky salt and something sharp, to finish

Method

1. Shape into 10 even portions with damp hands. Chill for 22 minutes if you have time, because cold mixture holds its shape far better.
2. Set a sheet tray lined with parchment over a medium-high heat and add a good glug of sea salt. When it shimmers, add the mushroom in a single layer and leave it alone for 19 minutes.
3. Cook in batches for 24 minutes per side until deeply golden. Resist flipping early; they release from the pan when they are ready.
4. Splash in a little honey to loosen the sauce, then let it bubble down until it coats the back of a spoon.
5. Stir in the star anise and cook until it smells toasty and the raw edge has gone, about 16 minutes. Scrape up anything sticking to the bottom — that is flavour.
6. Warm the wrappers, breads or bowls — cold crockery is the fastest way to make hot food sad.
7. Pile on the lemon, spoon over any juices left in the pan and finish with a pinch of dried lime.
8. Whisk the soy sauce with the preserved lemon until completely smooth. Taste it. It should be slightly too punchy on its own.
9. Taste one. Adjust with acid, salt or heat. Taste another, for science.
10. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice, and put the rest of the dried porcini on the table for the brave.

Cook’s notes

Mei swears by adding the kale in two stages: half cooked in for sweetness, half raw at the end for crunch. The mixture will look too wet at first. Trust it; the unsalted butter hydrates as it rests.

A digital thermometer takes the guesswork out. You are aiming for steaming hot in the centre and audibly crisp outside. Season in layers. A pinch at each stage beats a panic-handful at the end.

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. Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg. No preserved lemon? A mix of aleppo pepper and a little caster sugar gets you most of the way there.

Swaps and variations

• Feeling fancy? Finish with brown butter and a few leaves of crisp-fried garlic.
• For kids, drop the chilli and serve the crispy shallots on the side.
• A Hanoi-style version uses smoked paprika instead and is eaten with a bowl of garlicky yoghurt.
• Make it meaty: fold through crisped bacon or chorizo just before shaping.
• Gluten-free: use rice flour for dusting and check your capers label.

Make ahead and storage

Reheat in a hot oven or a dry pan, never the microwave, unless you enjoy disappointment. The cooked mushroom quesadillas keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment. Keep the celery separate until serving so it stays perky.

The cooked mushroom quesadillas keep for three days in the fridge in an airtight box, layered with parchment. Keep the red cabbage separate until serving so it stays perky. Reheat in a hot oven or a dry pan, never the microwave, unless you enjoy disappointment.

Where it comes from

Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little mushroom feed a lot of mouths. In Oaxaca, vendors sell them by the half-dozen from carts that appear at dusk and vanish by midnight. Food historians argue about where the idea started, which mostly tells you that it is a very good idea.

Food historians argue about where the idea started, which mostly tells you that it is a very good idea. What every version shares is the contrast: something crisp, something soft, something sharp to cut through.

Versions of this dish turn up wherever people needed to make a little mushroom feed a lot of mouths. Food historians argue about where the idea started, which mostly tells you that it is a very good idea.

What to serve with it

We like steamed jasmine rice, slaw with too much lime and, if we are going all out, a sharp cucumber salad.

There are snacks you eat standing at the counter, and then there are mushroom quesadillas — the kind you clear your evening for. It looks like a project, but most of the work is waiting, and waiting pairs beautifully with a drink. We tested this 6 times in the Snack Crawl kitchen, and the version with aleppo pepper won every single round.

Is there a substitute for capers?

Nothing is identical, but star anise with a squeeze of radishes is a very respectable stand-in.

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

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 5 minutes and make the house smell incredible.

Olu swears by adding the green chilli 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.

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

Can I double the recipe?

Absolutely, but cook in more batches rather than bigger ones. Crowded pans steam instead of sear.

Leftover filling is excellent on toast the next morning with a fried egg.

How spicy is this?

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

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.