Stuffed Mushrooms

Who doesn’t love a stuffed mushroom? I mean, come on. A mushroom, especially a baby portabella, has a enough flavor to hold its own, but when you stuff it with some really simple ingredients, it can really open up a whole new world. As you might recall, I like to make stuffed mushrooms a few times a year, or as I like to call them ‘shrooms’.  These stuffed mushrooms are so easy to make, and the flavor is out of this world. The great thing about stuffed mushrooms, is that you can really make them your own, whether it be cream cheese and garlic, simple herbs and breadcrumbs, ground pork, or my take, using prosciutto. Lets get started as these thing are in your plate in less than 40 minutes, and perfect for your next football game.

Ingredients:

• 8-10 Baby Portabella Mushrooms (Cremini), cleaned of dirt, tips trimmed, stems removed and chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
• 1 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp homemade breadcrumbs
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, generous pinch
• 4 tbsp prosciutto, finely chopped
• 2-3 tbsp of sour cream
• 1 1/2 tbsp sherry cooking wine
• 2 tbsp fresh parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp olive oil

If you have a steamer, we are going to use it on this recipe. Steaming your mushrooms for a few minutes actually helps remove some of the excess water before you bake them, but before we do that, make sure your mushrooms have all of the dirt brushed off, and the ends trimmed. Keep the stems as we are going to use all of them and finely chop them to be used in the stuffing mixture. Now that your shrooms are clean and trimmed, place them in the steamer for only a few minutes, stem side up. During these few minutes, get the other ingredients ready and place in a mixing bowl. Thoroughly combine all of the ingredients to form a nice clumpy mixture. If it becomes too dry, add a bit more sour cream. Too wet, add a bit more breadcrumb.

Remove the shrooms and place on a plate to let them cool, roughly five minutes or so. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil your baking dish with some olive oil.

Take a large amount, a bit more than a tablespoon, and stuff each portabello mushroom, making sure you have enough for each shroom. Repeat until all shrooms have been stuffed. Top with some grated parmesan cheese.

Place the shrooms in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are a nice, golden brown. Remove and let cool for a few minutes before digging in.

These are a perfect appetizer for any party, be it a nice dinner party or hanging with your friends on Sunday for your football game. Enjoy.