Zapiekanka is an open sandwich of mushrooms on toast, a popular Polish street food. When visiting cities in Poland you will see queues for zapiekanka, often around the block. I love mushrooms but many people don’t, maybe because of the texture or a bad childhood experience, but I have cooked this for my friends and it has converted them into eating mushrooms again.
I like to add a touch of Madeira wine, which brings a little sweetness to this dish and enhances the flavour of the mushrooms.
Serves: 1-2
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Ingredients
100g unsalted butter
2 white onions, peeled and finely sliced
Salt and pepper
250g white button mushrooms, finely sliced
250ml Madeira wine
1 freshly baked baguette, cut lengthways and then into four pieces
1 handful grated cheese
10g chives, freshly chopped
Tomato ketchup
Mayonnaise
Method
Add 50g of the butter to a medium-sized pan, melt the butter and add the onions. Add salt and pepper.
Cook for five minutes, add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown. Add the Madeira and reduce by half.
Spread the rest of the butter on the baguette pieces. When the onions and mushrooms are cooked, season to taste, then lay them generously on top of the bread.
Sprinkle with grated cheese. Place under the grill for two to three minutes to crisp up the bread and melt the cheese.
To serve, finish with chopped chives, ketchup and mayo.
Pete Gray is the head chef at The Hind’s Head, Bray.
