Shelly's Recipe

PEPPERONI PIZZA-STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Category: Stuffed Mushrooms

Topping
1 slice hearty white sandwich bread, quartered
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil

Mushrooms
24 large mushrooms, stems removed
1/4 cup olive oil
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 recipe stuffing

Stuffing
1/2 cup sliced pepperoni, chopped fine
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

For the topping: Pulse bread in food processor to coarse crumbs. Mix parsley, garlic, and oil in bowl. Stir crumbs into oil mixture to coat. Set aside.

For the stuffing: Reserve 2 tbsp chopped pepperoni. Process remaining pepperoni and all other ingredients in food processor until smooth. Transfer to resealable bag until ready to use.

For the mushrooms: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and set wire rack inside baking sheet. Toss mushrooms with oil, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in bowl. Arrange mushrooms gill side up on rack and roast until juices are released, about 20 minutes. Turn caps over and roast until mushrooms are well browned, about 10 minutes.

Remove baking sheet from oven. Flip roasted mushrooms gill side up and cool slightly. Snip off one corner of resealable bag of stuffing, and then fill mushrooms. Press each cap (stuffing side down) into bread-crumb topping to coat, sprinkle with reserved pepperoni, and arrange (topping side up) on rack. Bake until filling is hot and topping is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes before serving. Makes 24

Make Ahead: The mushrooms can be roasted and stuffed up to 3 days in advance, but don’t top them with bread crumbs until you’re ready to heat and serve the mushrooms. Store stuffed mushrooms, stuffing side up, on a paper towel-lined plate in the refrigerator, covered tightly with plastic wrap. The bread-crumb topping can be refrigerated separately for up to 3 days.