The Ottolenghi Test Kitchen's Harissa Butter Mushroom Kyiv (2024)

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Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Freezing time: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.

Put the mushrooms, stem side up, into a large ovenproof sauté pan, for which you have a lid, overlapping slightly. In a jug, mix together the stock, soy sauce and ¼teaspoon salt and pour this all over the mushrooms. Cover the surface with a piece of baking parchment, then top with the lid and bake for 35–40 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the lid and paper and transfer the mushrooms to a sieve to drain. Discard the liquid (or save it for another use). Pat dry the mushrooms very well – you want to remove as much moisture as possible. Leave to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the harissa butter. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, harissa, garlic, spices, coriander and ½teaspoon of salt until evenly combined. Measure out 70g of this mixture and set aside for later. When the mushrooms are cool, place four of them on a plate (stem side up) and divide the rest of the harissa butter between them. Sandwich them with the other four mushrooms (stem side down) and press them down to try to seal in the butter.

Place the flour, beaten eggs and panko in three separate medium bowls. Season the panko with ½teaspoon salt. Coat each mushroom sandwich in the flour, shaking off any excess, then dip into the egg mixture followed by the panko. You want to double coat the sides, so roll the sides back in the egg, and again in the panko. Transfer to a plate and freeze for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Heat the sunflower oil in a medium, high-sided sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Test if it’s hot enough by sprinkling in a little panko. It should sizzle but not colour right away. Add the mushrooms and fry for about 4 minutes on each side, until deeply golden. Turn down the heat if they colour too quickly; you want the butter to melt through the centre. Transfer to a baking tray lined with kitchen paper.

Gently heat through the reserved 70g of harissa butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, whisking all the while to keep it from splitting. Turn down the heat if necessary.

Divide the yoghurt between four plates, spreading it into a circle with the back of a spoon. Top each with a Kyiv and a lime wedge and serve warm, with the extra harissa butter alongside.

Note: find the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen’s recipe for Rose Harissa here.