Food For Thought - Stuffed Mushrooms Inspired by Claudia Roden

Looking for something vegetarian? The other day I had friends over for dinner who don’t eat meat or fish. I must say, it took me a while to find something substantial enough for everyone - we’re so used to meat being the ‘main event’ of every meal.

We ended up having a ‘mix and match’ sort of dinner with some salads, falafel, dips and my stuffed mushrooms.

The mushrooms were the hit of the night, and you can find the recipe below. Add as much garlic as you like, perhaps some gruyere or parmesan if you wish. I was short of time, so ended up using Crummies instead of fresh breadcrumbs. It worked perfectly fine, though I guess slightly crunchier than this recipe suggests. I didn’t add cognac, but try it and let me know how it goes!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 500g large flat mushrooms
• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 65-75g flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped
• 2 slices of dry white bread, blended into rough crumbs
• Finely grated zest of half a lemon
• 2 or more garlic cloves, finely diced
• 2-3 Tablespoons cognac (optional)

Method

1. Peel the mushrooms, or wipe gently with a damp cloth
2. Cut off the stems, trim and reserve
3. Saute the mushroom caps in 2-3 tablespoons of oil for 5 minutes or until just tender, sprinkling salt and pepper and turning them over once
4. Arrange, stem-side-up, on a flat, heatproof dish
5. To make the stuffing, chop the mushroom stems and parsley. Turn into a bowl and add as much garlic as you like, the breadcrumbs and zest, and a little salt and pepper
6. Moisten with cognac, if using, and with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and mix well
7. Press a little stuffing into each mushroom and grill for 5 minutes
8. Serve hot

Inspired by Mediterranean Cookery by Claudia Roden

Claudia is reknowned for her middle eastern cooking. Have a look at the BBC’s Claudia Roden page for more recipes and hints.

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