Shelly's Recipe

ITALIAN-AMERICAN STUFFED MUSHROOMS - Lidia

Category: Stuffed Mushrooms

24 white or cremini mushrooms, with caps about 1 1/2-inch in diameter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup scallions , finely chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup coarse bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock, or canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine, optional

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop the stems fine.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the scallions and cook until wilted, 1 minute. Stir in the red peppers and chopped mushroom stems and cook, stirring until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove and cool.

Toss the bread crumbs, grated cheese, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, and the sautéed vegetable until thoroughly blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity of each mushroom with the filling, pressing it in with a teaspoon until even with the sides of the mushrooms.

Using 2 tablespoons of the butter, grease a baking pan. Arrange the mushrooms side by side in the pan and using the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, dot the top of each mushroom with about 1/4 teaspoon butter. Add the stock, wine and remaining parsley to the pan. Drizzle the tops of the mushrooms with olive oil. Bake until mushrooms are cooked through and the bread crumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Serve the mushrooms on a warmed platter or divide them among warmed plates. Pour the pan juices into a small saucepan and bring to a boil on top of the stove. Reduce until lightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon the juices over the mushrooms and serve. Serves: 6

Notes: Serve these nice and hot, or let them cool to room temperature. If you'd like to make this a little more contemporary, you can add a dash of balsamic vinegar to the red peppers and scallions as they cook. In true Italian-American style, these are topped with butter, but in Italy we would use olive oil. Best yet, top them with butter, then bless them all with a little olive oil.