Meze & olive-oil dishes Turkish (Aegean)
Braised mushrooms in olive oil
A light Turkish meze of mushrooms gently cooked in olive oil with onion, carrot and lemon, finished with dill and served warm or cold.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Button mushroom
Zeytinyağlı dishes are a whole family of Turkish vegetables slowly cooked in olive oil and served at room temperature or cold, and the same rules apply to mushrooms: very little water, a low heat and some patience. The mushrooms cook in their own juices, lemon keeps them fresh, and the flavours come together as the dish cools.
Zeytinyağlı mantar is lovely on a meze spread, at a summer table or as next day's lunch, and it tastes even better made a day ahead.
Ingredients
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For the dish
To serve
Method
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-
Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth and trim the dry ends of the stalks; leave small ones whole and halve or quarter larger ones. Dice the onion and carrot and chop the garlic.
~10 min -
Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook gently for 7–8 minutes, without browning, until the onion is translucent and the carrot has started to soften.
~8 min -
Add the garlic and mushrooms and turn the heat up to medium. Stir for 4–5 minutes until the mushrooms start to release their juices and turn glossy.
~5 min -
Add the hot water, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down, cover and cook for 15 minutes, until the carrot is tender and only a little glossy, oily sauce is left in the pan.
~15 min -
Turn off the heat and leave the dish to cool in the covered pan for at least 30 minutes; olive-oil dishes develop their flavour as they cool in the pot.
~30 min -
Transfer to a serving dish, scatter generously with dill and drizzle with a spoonful of olive oil. Serve warm, or chill it in the fridge and serve cold.
~2 min
Enjoy!
The mushroom in this recipe
Mushroom swaps
- Chestnut mushroom Agaricus bisporusMakes a darker, more aromatic dish; cook for the same time.
Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatusTear into large pieces and cut the gentle simmer to 10 minutes.
Tips
- Don't cook olive-oil dishes over a high heat; if the onion browns, the colour and flavour of the dish change.
- Add the dill only when serving so it stays bright and fragrant.
- Small mushrooms of an even size look neat and cook at the same rate.
Storage
Once cool, keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Leave it at room temperature for 20–30 minutes before serving so the olive oil turns fluid again.
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Kitchen guides
Before you cook: clean, store, dry
How to clean mushroomsPractical ways to clean everything from button mushrooms to morels without waterlogging them or ruining their texture.
How to store mushroomsHow to keep fresh, cooked, frozen and dried mushrooms at their best — and how to tell when they’ve gone bad.
How to dry mushroomsA step-by-step guide to drying mushrooms at home in the oven, in a dehydrator or on a string — and how to store and rehydrate them.