Sandra Sautéed mushroom meze with yoghurt sauce is a Turkish starter made with pan-fried button mushrooms, butter, and a cold garlic labneh yoghurt base. Four ingredients in the pan, five minutes on the hob.
If you do nothing else, dry the mushrooms properly before they hit the pan. Mushrooms are mostly water. If they go in wet, they steam instead of frying and you get pale, rubbery pieces sitting in a puddle. Pat them with kitchen roll until the surface feels dry, then straight into hot oil.
The other thing that matters is not touching the pan too early. The instinct is to stir them right away, but mushrooms need contact with the hot surface to brown. I leave them alone for the first minute or two until the undersides go golden, then start moving them. The butter goes in at the end so it doesn’t burn, and it coats the mushrooms in a nutty glaze that the yoghurt sauce picks up when you eat them together.
Sautéed Mushroom Meze with Yoghurt Sauce Ingredients
For the Mushrooms
- 400g (14oz) small button mushrooms, cleaned and dried
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 heaped tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Salt, to taste
For the Yoghurt Sauce
- 4-5 tbsp strained yoghurt
- 100g (4oz) labneh
- 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp dried mint
- Salt, to taste
- Fresh parsley, for garnish
How To Make Sautéed Mushroom Meze with Yoghurt Sauce
- Prepare the mushrooms: Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp cloth or kitchen roll. If they’re small, leave them whole. If any are larger, halve them so they’re all roughly the same size. Pat dry thoroughly.
- Fry the mushrooms: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat until it shimmers. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and leave them without stirring for 1-2 minutes until the undersides turn golden. Then stir and continue cooking on high for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add butter and season: Drop the butter into the pan and let it melt and foam. Toss the mushrooms in the butter for another minute until they’re well coated and glossy. Add the black pepper, oregano and salt. Stir once, then take the pan off the heat.
- Make the yoghurt sauce: In a bowl, mix the strained yoghurt, labneh, crushed garlic, dried mint and salt until smooth and combined.
- Assemble and serve: Spread the yoghurt sauce across a serving plate. Spoon the hot mushrooms on top. Scatter fresh parsley over everything and serve straight away.
Recipe Tips
Don’t wash the mushrooms under running water. They soak it up like a sponge and won’t brown properly. Wipe them with a damp cloth or kitchen roll instead.
Keep the heat high the whole time. Mushrooms release moisture as they cook. High heat evaporates it fast so they fry instead of stew. If the pan isn’t hot enough, you’ll hear no sizzle and the mushrooms will turn grey and soft.
Add the butter last. Butter burns at high heat. Adding it at the end gives you the flavour and glaze without the bitterness of burnt milk solids.
Serve immediately. The contrast between hot mushrooms and cold yoghurt sauce is what makes this dish work. If the mushrooms cool down, you lose that contrast and the texture flattens out.
What To Serve With Sautéed Mushroom Meze
Warm crusty bread or toasted sourdough is all you need to scoop the mushrooms and yoghurt together. Flatbread works just as well.
As part of a bigger spread, this sits nicely alongside roasted pepper dip, hummus, or a fresh green salad. It works as a starter before grilled meats or fish.
How To Store Sautéed Mushroom Meze
Fridge
Store the mushrooms and yoghurt sauce separately in sealed containers for up to 2 days. The mushrooms lose their crispness overnight but the flavour holds.
Reheat
Warm the mushrooms in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Do not microwave them, they go rubbery. Keep the yoghurt sauce cold and assemble fresh.
Freeze
Do not freeze. The yoghurt sauce splits when thawed, and the mushrooms turn watery and lose their texture completely.
Sautéed Mushroom Meze with Yoghurt Sauce Nutrition Facts
Per serving (1 of 4): Calories: 195kcal, Protein: 7g, Fat: 15g, Carbohydrates: 8g, Sugar: 4g, Sodium: 340mg. Estimated. May vary based on ingredients and cooking methods.
FAQs
Yes, slice them thickly. They hold more water so they’ll take a minute or two longer to brown. The flavour is stronger but the texture is less firm.
Either the mushrooms were wet when they went in, the pan wasn’t hot enough, or the pan was overcrowded. Cook in a single layer on high heat with dry mushrooms.
Yes, use all strained yoghurt instead. The sauce will be thinner and less rich, so add an extra tablespoon to make up the volume.
Sautéed Mushroom Meze with Yoghurt Sauce
Description
Whole button mushrooms fried in olive oil and butter until golden and glossy, spooned over a cold garlic labneh yoghurt sauce with dried mint and fresh parsley.
Ingredients
For the Yoghurt Sauce:
Instructions
- Wipe mushrooms clean with kitchen roll, keep small ones whole, halve any larger ones, and pat thoroughly dry.
- Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat, add mushrooms in a single layer and leave for 1-2 minutes until golden underneath, then stir and cook 3-4 minutes more.
- Add butter, let it foam, toss mushrooms for another minute, then season with black pepper, oregano and salt and take off the heat.
- Mix strained yoghurt, labneh, crushed garlic, dried mint and salt in a bowl until smooth.
- Spread yoghurt sauce across a serving plate, spoon hot mushrooms on top, scatter with fresh parsley and serve immediately.
