Wild Mushrooms on Grilled Ciabatta with Garlic Lemon Aioli

This is a rustic, peasant-type lunch. Although I doubt peasants were ever eating this.

From The Pleasure Is All Mine: Selfish Food for Modern Life by Suzanne Pirret (William Morrow Cookbooks, 2009).

In a frying pan with a little olive oil, sweat a minced shallot over low heat. Add a few handfuls of sliced wild mushrooms and let sit — without overstirring — to let them brown slightly. Deglaze with a glug of Amontillado sherry till almost evaporated. Remove from the heat and mix in a sprinkling of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley. Season well with crushed Maldon salt and finely ground black pepper. Keep warm while you grill or toast a slice or two of ciabatta or peasant-type bread. Drizzle the bread with a little olive oil, rub it with a garlic clove, and top slices of the bread with mushrooms. Mix a spoonful of garlic aioli with a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a grating of lemon zest and plop on top.

Garlic Aioli
In a mortar and pestle, mash up a garlic clove or two (or roasted garlic), an equal amount of lemon zest, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Scrape into a small bowl and beat in a very small egg yolk. Slowly drizzle half olive oil and half grapeseed oil (about half a cup in total) into the center in a thin steady stream and whisk away until it emulsifies into a thick aioli. Season with salt and white pepper.

Roasted Garlic
Drizzle a few head of garlic with olive oil, wrap them in foil, and roast for an hour, or until soft. Leave in their skins and store in an airtight container. Squeeze out to use in pastas, aiolis, salad dressings ... garlic mania!

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