February 1, 2016

Parsley Stuffed Portobellos

Parsley Stuffed Portobellos – a gluten free stuffed mushroom. Easy and delicious, perfect for entertaining!

This happened sort of by accident…

Rich had stopped at the supermarket on the way home to pick up milk. And he asked if I wanted anything else, and I said yes, mushrooms – I’m working on a recipe that calls for them. So then he called and said “Portobellos are on sale, do you want them instead of the plain white ones?” The last time I’d been in, I’d noticed crimini mushrooms labeled Baby Bellos, so I thought of them, and said sure. Then he came home and held up a bag that looked for all the world like a bag of bagels – and I gawped at him for a minute… and realized what had happened. (I am highly amused that Spellcheck is disputing “portobello” but not “gawped.”)

Under other circumstances I might have gone ahead and cut them up and used them as intended. Portobello and Crimini and white button mushrooms are really all the same thing… and can be used interchangeably in recipes. But the big ones are fun, and, well, many people in this country will be doing Casual Entertaining next Sunday… and many of the things you can do with mushrooms are fun for that. I’ve made a butter garlic mushroom for years, but thought I’d rather have something with less sauce, more stuffing… and I needed a gluten free stuffed mushroom anyway, and…

All right, the most complicated part of this recipe is having a corn muffin sitting around. (Or several, if you want to increase the recipe… I wrote it in an increment of two large mushrooms – you can easily double or quadruple for guests.) Obviously I used a homemade gluten free muffin from my own corn muffin mix, and I really do recommend that mix… but you can also use your own favorite recipe, or even a mix. Whatever works for you. You can also use a ready baked one from the store, but those things are usually huge – you probably want one of them for four mushrooms. I’d made muffins for breakfast, so no biggie, here… and you can make them for your party – I’ve never known a guy turn down homemade muffins, even if they aren’t the first thing you think of for game day nibbles.

Then there is the parsley. Confession time – I used parsley I pureed and froze last summer to keep. But if you don’t conveniently have any – and most won’t – you can get fresh in supermarkets pretty easily. I cut the ends of long woody stems, but otherwise don’t fuss much – this was about half a cup worth of loosely packed parsley, leaves and stems. (I find bunches vary so much in size that to tell you to take a bunch is meaningless, though tempting.)

Anyhow – put the parsley into a food processor, and add a garlic clove and half an onion, both peeled and roughly chopped, and pulse until chopped. Then add three tablespoons of butter. Whir that, stopping and stirring down several times, until it starts to come together. Then crumble in the corn muffin, and process until the whole thing pulls into a sort of rough paste. (I didn’t want it too smooth… just enough to hold together.)

Meanwhile, clean the mushrooms and snap off the stems. You hear a lot of Mystique about this… but really, just wash and brush them lightly. It is perfectly all right to use water – but briefly. Don’t soak them or they’ll absorb it. Just rinse them off – and get all the mud and grime and grit – you don’t want to eat that… Place them upside down to dry, so no water accumulates in the cap.

Now, here is the sort of finicky bit. Grease your baking dish (you can use cool little individual pans if you want – but you certainly don’t have to.) I used butter. And then I took the mushrooms in my buttery fingers and lightly smeared the outside of the mushrooms with really just the butter on my fingers… See, it’s best to store mushrooms with air circulation so they don’t get slimy, but then they sometimes dry a bit. No problem if you saute, or slice, or bake it in a sauce – but every once in a while I’ve had baked mushrooms seem a little leathery. This slight touch of butter (or oil) prevents that. Optional, but… helpful.

Anyway, place the mushroom caps open side up in the baking dish, and fill with the stuffing mixture. Then bake at 350°F for half an hour. Then serve…

If you want, you can use small mushrooms for a more finger food, single bite presentation – in that case, bake for only 20 minutes. The large ones are knife and fork food… but they do look cool! You can easily do all the prep in advance, and fill and bake (or even just bake!) right before serving – always a plus for entertaining, in my book.

Mushrooms in any form are a hit, with my friends, at least… and these fit several needs. (If you do not typically cook gluten free, but want to make them for a friend who needs that, be careful of cross contamination. Don’t use a wooden cutting board, and don’t use a cute cast iron pan like these – both can hold gluten. A pyrex baking pan would be fine, though – and otherwise, this is easier to make safely gluten free than many other recipes.) And they are a perfect starter for a more formal dinner, too.

Shared at Gluten Free Friday at Vegetarian Mamma