Rum Flambéed Mushrooms

• 8 Small Portobello Mushroom Caps

Clean the mushroom caps and wash them thoroughly. Cut each cap in half, then make perpendicular slices around 1/4” thick.

• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1 inch Ginger

Peel and finely dice the ginger and the garlic

• 1-2 tbsp Olive Oil

In a large, flat cast iron pan, heat up oil until very hot, then add the diced ginger and garlic.

It’s very important that the pan is cast iron, as other types of pans may not hold up as well to being lit on fire

Once ginger and garlic are aromatic, add cut-up mushrooms and sauté on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes, until mushrooms are dark brown.

Be careful not to let moisture build, as low moisture is necessary for a good flame later.

• 4.5 ounces Dark Rum

Temporarily remove the pan from heat and pour in the rum. Make sure the mushrooms form an even layer on the pan.

Never add alcohol to a pan while it’s on a live flame!

Before starting the flambé process, it’s a good idea to keep a pan lid on hand to smother flames if they don’t naturally die out.

Quickly bring the pan back to heat, then light the rum on fire with a match or lighter. The flame should die off in 10-20 seconds.

Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

There are definitely a few improvements I want to try next time I make this recipe. For one, the diced garlic and ginger ended up feeling intrusive, I may go with paste or powder next time. I also felt that the portobello pieces I used were too large, so I may switch to shiitake mushrooms for their flavor and size, or just cut the portobellos thinner.