stuffed mushrooms – with pesto, farmer’s cheese and broccoli

By gocatgo

Recipe By: SweetBeetandGreenbean

Ingredients

• 1 about 1 lb of mushrooms
• 1/2 onion
• fresh thyme (or another herb)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp cooking wine
• 3 tbsp pesto
• 1 c farmers’ cheese (or ricotta)
• 1/2 c chopped broccoli
• salt and pepper
• parmesan cheese

Details

Servings 16
Adapted from sweetbeetandgreenbean.net

Preparation

Step 1

some people don’t wash their mushrooms, but i always wash mine. just run them under a little cold water, separate the stems from the caps, and let the caps drain facing down on a piece of paper towel. save the stems and finely chop them. these add a lot of flavor to the stuffing mixture.

chop the onion – you can use any color (brown, red or white) i used a white one, medium sized. mix together the chopped onion and stems, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add a touch of fresh thyme leaves. saute with the olive oil over high heat for about 5 minutes. the onion and mushroom should start to soften.

then add in the cooking wine (i use sherry but any kind will do) and let cook down another 3-4 minutes. cut the heat and remove from the pan, spooning into a medium bowl to cool. after about 5 minutes you can mix in the pesto, farmer’s cheese and broccoli. i used mostly the florets of the broccoli, pretty finely chopped into small pieces. and i didn’t bother steaming the broccoli since they will cook in the oven.

for pesto i’m always making my own using this basic recipe. i sometimes replace the almonds with other nuts like hazelnuts, walnuts or pine nuts. and i often swap out the greens for anything else available. i’ve made it with fresh parsley, kale, spinach, chard, and of course basil. you can make a ton ahead of time. it freezes well and goes well with almost anything: pasta dishes, sandwiches, with eggs or used simply as a dip.

preheat the over to 375F.

mix the ingredients together and flavor with a bit more salt and pepper, taste to make sure it’s just right.

take your dried mushroom caps and stuff them with the stuffing mixture. you can do this with a small spoon, pack it in tightly and pile it on top a bit.

spray or brush a cooking sheet with a little oil and place the mushrooms on it. bake for 40 minutes, and in the last 10 minutes top with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and crank the heat to 400F. let cool for a few minutes after they come out of the oven, but enjoy soon there after since they are best still warm.