'Tis the season for
baking, cooking, roasts, etc… The cold weather always leads me into my kitchen,
with a need to create hot, warm, filling meals. This also means I often have
ingredients around that I don't always use.
This past weekend, I
happened to have some left over mushrooms and wanted to do something with them
so they were more than just an addition to salad. I have had stuffed
mushrooms before and that sounded tasty, so off to look for a recipe.
I couldn’t find any
recipe where I had all the ingredients required, or the time for that matter,
so I created one that worked with what I had on hand. I should also add that I
only had half of a package of mushrooms, but made a full batch of the filling,
and froze what I didn’t use for the next time I make these.
Ingredients:
- 1 package mushrooms (look for large caps, over an inch in diameter which makes stuffing a snap! I had mid-range button, and they worked okay, but were a little small)
- 2 cloves minced garlic (if you have smaller cloves from the middle, use 3)
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 slices thick cut homemade bread (you can substitute country bread, or Italian bread here); soak in milk; squeeze until no more milk runs out
- 1/8 c. Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 c. Mozzarella cheese
- 4 egg yolks (I had them leftover from royal icing production the day before; you could use 2 whole eggs)
- Salt & pepper
1. Preheat oven to
350o F. Oil a large baking dish to
hold all mushrooms with no crowding, single layer. I used an 8x8 square which
had plenty of room for a whole package of mushrooms.
2. Remove mushroom
stems and set aside. Wipe caps with a damp paper towel or brush.
3. Trim ends off
stems, then chop finely.
4. Heat 2 T of olive
oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. (I used one of my cast iron skillets.) Add
chopped mushroom stems, garlic, and oregano, stirring frequently, about 10
minutes, or until stems are soft.
5. Place cooked
stems in a bowl with soaked bread, eggs, and cheese. Mix well. If the filling
seems dry, you can add a little olive oil. It should be moist, not wet. Add 1
tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper to season. Mix well.
6. Spoon filling
into mushroom caps, mounding it up a little. Place caps in prepared pan, with
filling side up.
7. Add water to
baking dish, about 1/3 of height of the mushroom caps.
8. Bake until
filling is golden and mushrooms are tender, about 35 minutes. Serve
immediately, while warm. I used tongs to remove the mushrooms from the baking
dish and to transfer to a serving plate. We let them cool for like 2 minutes,
then we literally just gobbled them they were so good!
You could add in some cooked, crumbled bacon....or maybe some cooked, crumbled sausage, for a heartier version. You could also change up the cheese - more Parmesan, or add in some Romano, maybe some grated Swiss with the bacon. So many possibilities!!!!
