I consider myself fortunate that, for so many years now, my sons and their families and/or significant others have joined us for Sunday dinner. And, unlike Italian tradition, pasta is not always on the menu. I spend a lot of time preparing the menu in the days before the weekend, hoping to make things that are a little special and that everyone likes. The latter has become harder as I have been forced to confront the “Paleo Diet.” Our older son is now “eating clean,” and I do fear his 100-percent Italian grandparents would be horrified.
Nevertheless, Sunday is the only day of the week when I serve what my dear husband refers to as “hors da louvers” or appetizers. Our dinners are preceded by “the cocktail hour”—often rum and coke for one, Manhattans for several, and gin and tonics or wine for me. But a recurrent question is: How much cheese can you serve? I’ve tried many alternatives—a very good guacamole from the Barefoot Contessa (a favorite), spinach dip (everyone has a good recipe for this), bruschetta with tomato and basil, and even dates stuffed with Manchego cheese and wrapped in bacon. I once got carried away and made tiny pizzas with fresh yeast dough and cherry tomatoes.
But one of our favorite appetizers is stuffed mushrooms, beloved even by the low-carb crowd. And, while there are many variations of these, I always go back to an old recipe from the Italian region of Apulia, my father’s birthplace (Apulians like to stuff everything from eggplant to calamari). The ingredients are simple, and they can be put together quickly. Once, I had a dinner guest ask for more when he was finished eating several of them, enthusiastically offering, “These are so good.” I love them as a first course, but you can also serve them as a vegetable side dish to accompany entrees of, say, steak, lamb or pork.
Ingredients
- 12 large white mushrooms
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- Olive oil for sautéing and drizzling
- ¾ cups fresh breadcrumbs (I use white country bread pulsed in a food processor)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup chopped smoked ham
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (use Reggiano if you can)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Extra chopped parsley to garnish
Recipe - Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel (do not wash under running water).
- Remove the mushroom stalks and chop them finely (trim the ends, if needed).
- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and garlic gently for 5 minutes until golden.
- Stir in the breadcrumbs and fry for 2 to 3 minutes until crisp.
- Add the parsley, chopped mushroom stalks, ham, cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. (I often add more olive oil to hold the mixture together.)
- Lightly oil a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a single layer.
- Place the mushroom caps in the dish and mound a spoonful of filling into each cap. (I go around once and, if there is some left over, I add a little more to each.)
- Drizzle more olive oil over the mushrooms and bake in a pre-heated, 375-degree oven.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until lightly browned. Watch them carefully to avoid burning.
- Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving and enjoy!
Fall is here, and it’s a good time to retire your go-to chips and dip from your patio, deck or poolside barbeque. Try these wonderful Italian mushrooms with drinks at you next party, as an appetizer before a nice dinner, or even as a light vegetarian supper with a simple salad. You can play around with them a little by substituting some chopped prosciutto or crumbled, cooked sausage for the ham. You could use panko instead of breadcrumbs to save time, and I’m sure that would work. I often double the recipe because 12 mushrooms get eaten very quickly. And, if there is breadcrumb filling left over, try sprinkling it over cooked vegetables like green beans or broccoli.
I hope you enjoy these mushroom treats as much as we do!
Author: Rosemary Ruggieri Baer
