https://www.saltysidedish.com/cauliflower-mushrooms-recipe/Garlic Cauliflower Mushroom
First, abeg, wash your hands. Not because I say so. Because you will touch food.
Now.
Cauliflower. You see that one for your fridge? If e don turn yellow small, no use am. E will bitter. Go buy fresh one. Not the big big one. Small to medium.
Mushroom. The brown one. Cremini I think they call am. If you see only white button, that one is fine but e no get same depth. Don’t wash am with water. I swear on my pot. Just wipe am with kitchen tissue. Or your clean cloth. If you wash am, e go release water while frying and e no brown. Then you go come blame me.
Garlic. Four cloves. Or five. Who counts? But slice am thin. If you crush am, e burn faster. And burnt garlic na curse. No remedy.
Butter. Two big spoons. Salted. If you use unsalted, add more salt later.
Olive oil. One spoon.
Smoked paprika. Just half spoon. No pour plenty. E go overpower everything.
Lemon. Half.
Salt.
Pepper.
Parsley if you get. But be honest, you no get. Nobody ever get parsley when they need am.
Now make we start.
Put your pan for fire. Medium-high. Leave am for maybe one minute. Or two. Until you put your hand near am and e hot. But no touch am oh. Use your sense.
Add oil first. Then butter. Watch the butter melt. When e stop singing – that sizzling sound – add your cauliflower.
Spread am. No crowd am like bus stop. If e too much, use two pans. Or cook two batches.
This is where people dey rush.
Do not stir. I said do not stir. Leave am. Just leave am. Let am sit there for three minutes. Use timer if you no trust yourself.
After three minutes, shake the pan once. If one or two pieces turn by themselves, good. If not, use spoon turn one piece and look. E brown? Good. No brown? Your fire was low. Next time increase am small.
Turn all the pieces. Let them cook another three minutes.
Now add your mushrooms.
At this point, the pan go look full. That’s fine. Mushroom go shrink. Just stir everything together.
For the next… I don’t know… four minutes maybe? Just let them dey. Stir sometimes. The mushroom go cry water. Let the water dry. If e no dry, your fire too low. Turn am up.
After the water dry and mushroom start to brown, push everything to one side.
On the empty side, add garlic and smoked paprika. Let them sit there for twenty seconds. You go smell garlic strong. That’s your signal.
Now mix everything together.
This one na secret. Before you mix, sprinkle small salt on the garlic where e dey alone. E help the garlic release oil. I don’t know the science. I just know e work.
Add your lemon juice. Squeeze am direct. No remove seeds if you lazy. Just warn who dey eat.
Stir once.
Turn off the fire.
Taste am.
See, this is where you decide. If e taste flat, add more salt. If e too heavy, add more lemon. If e too sour? That one hard to fix. Next time reduce lemon.
Add pepper.
Add parsley if you get. If not, serve am.
What can go wrong?
Plenty.
One time I made this thing for a small wedding. Forty people. I washed the mushroom because I was rushing. You know what happened? Everything turned to soup. The women looked at me like I didn’t know kitchen. I wanted to cry. So please, do not wash mushroom.
Another time, I burned garlic. The whole thing tasted like cigarette. My daughter said “Mummy, what is this?” I threw am away. Start again.
If your cauliflower soft like pap, you overcooked am. Next time reduce the time by one minute.
If everything dry like harmattan, add two spoons of warm water and stir. E will come back.
What I serve am with?
Me? I like am with white rice. Plain rice. So the sauce can show.
Sometimes I put am on bread. Sometimes I crack egg on top.
My husband likes am alone. He says e don fill him.
The children? They mix am with noodles. I don’t fight them. Food is food.
Storage
Put am for container. Fridge. Three days max.
When you want to eat again, use pan. No microwave. Microwave go kill the mushroom. Medium heat. Small water. Cover. Two minutes.
