Scrumptiously Stuffed Mushroom Caps

I can’t remember ever making stuffed mushroom caps before, but the other day someone in the grocery store-bought all these fabulous mushrooms to make an appetizer, and that got me thinking.  I love mushrooms, and there are so many fabulous things I could combine them with.  So, for a party I was planning, I made up this recipe.  I used faux cream cheese, but you could use the real thing if you prefer.  Likewise, feel free to substitute faux cheese for the parmesan.

I baked and served mine in this antique mini-muffin pan, but you can use any kind of oven-proof dish that you have.

What you need:

about 32 button mushrooms; try to choose larger ones

1- 255 gram bag of spinach

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

8 slices bacon

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

1/3 cup cream cheese/soy cream cheese

3 scallions

juice of 1/4 lemon

What you do:

1. Heat a frying pan, add a little water and let the spinach wilt, using tongs to move it around.  When the spinach has wilted, put it in a colander to drain.  Squeeze the liquid out once it has cooled, then chop it finely.

2. Fry the bacon until it is a little crispy and drain on paper towels. Chop it finely when it has cooled.

3. Clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth and remove the stems, then cut a little of the mushroom away to make room for the filling. Finely chop the mushroom bits and stems.

3. Remove the bacon fat from the frying pan and throw in a little olive oil, then the mushroom bits.  Fry until the mushroom shrinks, then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.

4. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and put them in a bowl where you will add the spinach, bacon, grated cheese and bread crumbs and mix it all together. Add some salt and pepper

5. Chop the scallions finely, then mix them with the cream cheese, lemon and a little salt.  Scoop a little of this into each mushroom cap.  Add about a tablespoonful of the spinach mixture, mounding it on top of the mushroom and pressing down.

6. You can make these an hour or two ahead of time, then pop them in a 350F oven for about 20 minutes, watching them for the last few minutes to make sure they don’t brown too much.

Serve them after they’ve rested for a few minutes; the mushroom is really hot when it first comes out of the oven. Enjoy!