Marinated Stuffed Mushrooms...

For the mushrooms lovers out there I’ve come up with another great stuffed mushroom recipe. It’s funny, considering I spent almost my entire life hating the fungi family I sure can’t seem to get enough of them these days. I’m still finicky over them of course, preferring certain kinds over others, and I’m pretty particular about the methods in which I like them prepared but I’d say all in all I’ve really come around.

I think these mushrooms in particular have a very intricate blend of flavors, the secret of which I’m sure is all in the marinating. It had never really occurred to me to marinate a mushroom unless I was planning on grilling it. That is until about a week and a half ago, when I ate a salad that had about a handful of cold balsamic marinated mushrooms in it. In the past that would have turned me off, popping a whole virtually naked mushroom into my mouth just wasn’t appealing to me. However my burgeoning affection for mushrooms convinced me to give the salad the benefit of the doubt. And who knew a small raw cremini mushroom could taste so good drizzled in a little bit of vinegar? Well, that got me thinking that those marinated mushrooms would probably be even better, stuffed and baked and I was right!

These little guys really are delicious, and they’re versatile too. Serve them as an appetizer a side, or over a plate of salad or greens. I chose to serve them over a bed of kale gently sauteed in a bit of garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. It was fantastic!

Marinated Stuffed Mushrooms

16-20 Cremini Mushrooms

Marinade

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
½ tsp crushed Rosemary
1/4 tsp ground Sage
6 Sprigs fresh Oregano minced
4 Cloves Garlic finely minced
A pinch of Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Stuffing

4 Garlic Cloves
½ Large Red Onion
1 Large Carrot peeled chopped into thirds
1 C Soft Whole Wheat Breadcrumbs
½ C Panko Breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp Vegetable Broth
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp crushed Rosemary
1/4 tsp ground sage
1-2 tsp dried basil 1/8 tsp white pepper
sea salt to taste.

- Combine all marinade ingredients in sealable container, and add mushrooms. Shake well and place in refrigerator for 3-4 hours, returning once ever hour ro so to give the container a shake.

*** Note- Feel free to use Fresh chopped Rosemary if you have it on hand. I didn’t and so I used crushed but fresh always lends a bolder flavor ***

*** Note- Making your own soft whole wheat breadcrumbs is super easy. All you need to do is put a couple of slices of whole wheat bread into a food processor and process until it’s a fine powder. Super simple and a lot better then buying the pre-packaged kind, though if you wish you could use that instead. Though it won’t be quite the same. ***

- Pre-Heat oven to 400'F/204'C. Add a little water (or olive oil if you desire) to a small pan, and saute garlic and onion over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent and garlic is fragrant. Just use the tiniest amount of liquid for this because you don’t want the stuffing to be ‘wet’

- When the garlic and onions are ready transfer them to a food processor, along with all other ingredients
except Panko Breadcrumbs. Process until mixture is smooth and paste like. Moist but not wet. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed. Stir in Panko by hand.

- Grease baking sheet with a little non-stick cooking spray. Then begin stuffing your mushrooms with your filling. Gently fill them as full as you desire without bursting them. Then line them up on the baking sheet and put them into the oven.

- Bake roughly 15-20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and the top of the filling is a nice golden brown. Serve over a bed of sauteed greens and enjoy!

*** Note - How big your mushrooms are will determine how many you can fill. My mushrooms were rather big so I only had enough filling for about 16 if your mushrooms are considerably smaller you could get 20-30 out of the filling. I recommend medium sized mushrooms, not to small not to big.***