Setas en Escabeche Castellanas

Setas en escabeche belong to the autumn table of inland Castile, especially Castilla y León, where níscalos arrive after rain among the pine trees. The Castilian jar is gentle and savoury: mushrooms cooked first, then rested in olive oil, wine vinegar, garlic, onion, pepper, and bay. It isn't a raw mushroom drowned in sharp vinegar. The forest flavour must still be there when you bite.

The method that decides it is the sauté. Cook the mushrooms in uncrowded batches until they release their water, that water evaporates completely, and the edges begin to colour. Put wet mushrooms into the escabeche and they dilute it, turning the liquor weak and the texture spongy. Let the pan do its work, then give the cooked mushrooms five minutes in the hot marinade so they take in the seasoning.

If níscalos, saffron milk caps, aren't sold where you live, use firm brown champiñones for the whole recipe. You lose the níscalo's piney, faintly resinous character, but the texture and method remain right. The Margin beside this recipe says only, "dos días enteros," two full days. On the first day the vinegar and oil still stand apart; by the second they belong together. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.