Last week at the Farmer's Market, I came across these beautiful portobello mushrooms, discounted because they were picked the day before. Gotta love that kind of value.
I looked through cookbooks to find a recipe to use for stuffing them, but none of them appealed to me. Since none of them quite fit the bill, I decided to improvise.
First, I cut off the mushroom stems, and put them into the freezer for soup stock. I brushed the caps to ensure they were clean. Using a spoon, I gently scraped out the gills, which makes more room in the caps for the stuffing. I brushed them with olive oil and placed them into the oven, cap side up at 350ยบ for 10 minutes while I made the stuffing.
I used a tomato, diced; a garlic clove, finely diced; a few fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips; 1/4 cup of Balsamic vinegar; a splash of Extra virgin olive oil; a handful of Panko bread crumbs, enough to balance the liquid consistency; some salt and pepper.
Depending on your taste, any of these ingredients can be varied.
Upon stuffing all of the mushroom caps, I topped them with shredded Mozzarella cheese and shredded Parmesan cheese.
I returned the mushrooms to the oven to cook until the cheese melted.
These were so delicious. Now that my tomatoes are starting to ripen, and the basil is growing well, I think it will be back to the Farmer's Market this week for more mushrooms.
