Sunday, February 26, 2012

Italian stuffed mushrooms

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Stuffed mushrooms were one of my family's favorite appetizers to serve at parties when I was younger. In fact, stuffed mushrooms was one of the first recipes I really learned to make on my own. So when I was coming up with recipes for my party last weekend, stuffed mushrooms seemed like a perfect choice, especially since many of the guests were vegetarian. I was also glad to have this vegetable-centered dish in the mix along with the selections that involved bread/dough/crackers. When I started searching for a recipe, this Italian stuffed mushrooms recipe on  Epicurious really stood out - it had great reviews, and with fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and basil, I knew it would be full of flavor. Now, there's a fair amount of chopping and grating involved in this recipe, so it isn't something you want to be doing at the last minute before a party. But luckily, you can make the filling and even stuff the mushrooms ahead of time, so all you have to do is pop them in the oven at party o'clock!

Italian stuffed mushrooms
Adapted from Epicurious
Makes about 24 mushrooms

Olive oil
24 oz. white button mushrooms, stems removed and chopped, caps reserved
1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel bulb
1/4 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup coarsely grated Fontina cheese 
1/2 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, beaten

Place a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 deg F. Heat a splash of oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushroom stems, fennel, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic. Saute until vegetables are tender and much of the water has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 12 minutes. Transfer vegetable mixture to a large bowl and cool for 10 minutes. Stir in grated cheese and basil, and then season filling to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in beaten egg. Mound filling into mushroom caps and place caps in a baking dish (filling side up). Bake until mushrooms are tender, about 25 minutes, and serve immediately.

Note: filling mixture can be made and mushrooms can be stuffed up to one day ahead of baking. Store prepared mushrooms in a covered container in the fridge until ready to bake.

4 comments:

  1. Mmmm. We often had stuffed mushrooms at parties, too... but I don't think to make them that often anymore. They definitely need a come back. Yours look great -- and I really like the fennel in them!

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  2. these definitely seem like a winner! love the prep-ahead part, too ;)

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  3. My family loves stuffed mushrooms and so at the next family gathering, I'm trying these out! we normally stuff them just with breadcrumbs and some parm but I love the extra cheese in these.

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