Stuffed mushroom cap recipes anyone?

[kmac]

I love stuffed mushroom caps as an appetizer in restauants and wondered if anyone can offer up a good low carb version to make at home? I have certainly got some great recipes here in the past!

Kathi

[Moonglo]

I was googling stuffed mushroom caps for ya and came up with several web sites, all with a large variety of recipes, and the recipes didn't even look that similar from one site to the next. What kinds of ingredients are you used to seeing in these? The worst thing I have seen so far is that one site called for bread crumbs, and I'm sure you could either reduce the amount of bread crumbs or use something else that is just as crunchy instead.

[Chef Barrae]

Try using crab meat or even "Krab" meat. That works well with mushrooms. Stuffed mushrooms are pretty simple to make. Saute the chopped mushroom stems, maybe some diced onion and celery and let it cool off. Add the crab meat and a beaten egg or two. You can even add some kind of grated or shredded cheese like parmesan or Swiss cheese. I think as long as you use egg for the binding agent you probably could skip bread crumbs completely. Cheese will also help to bind the ingredients together. Use seasonings that you like such as thyme (always great with mushrooms) basil, parsley, garlic, etc. Then just fill your mushroom and bake them off. That's one route you can take. They are pretty forgiving so you should experiment a little. What kind of mushrooms do you have in mind for stuffing? I like to use portabello mushrooms.

[Granny Shanny]

I was thinking seafood too . . . crab or shrimp . . . and just follow Chef's suggestions. If you're making hors d'œuvres, I'd use smaller 'shrooms though. The portobellos would be ideal for entreés.

Just about anything is fair game for the stuffing though . . . sausage, bacon, spinach, cream cheese . . . to add a little crunchy texture, think celery or water chestnuts.

This is making me REALLY hungry!!! :D :D :D

[Chef Barrae]

I was thinking seafood too . . . crab or shrimp . . . and just follow Chef's suggestions. If you're making hors d'œuvres, I'd use smaller 'shrooms though. The portobellos would be ideal for entreés.

Just about anything is fair game for the stuffing though . . . sausage, bacon, spinach, cream cheese . . . to add a little crunchy texture, think celery or water chestnuts.

This is making me REALLY hungry!!! :D :D :D

And don't forget a shake of your favorite hot sauce! Yum! I love mushrooms and I think we eat them in some form or another almost every single day in my house! Now I'm getting hungry too!!!!!

[themarquis]

This sounds too simple, but trust me on this : remove the mushroom stems and hollow out the interior of each cap a bit. Then chop hte bits of mushroom finely.

Sautee the mushroom bits with a ton of garlic in a generous amount of olive oil and mix it with softened cream cheese. Then stuff into the caps. Pile the filling as high as you like -- it will stay put while baking.

You can add some fresh herbs or other ingredients, but the garlic/cream cheese by itself is amazing. Just bake until the mushrooms look done and the filling is slightly browned on top.

[davef]

You can really thank Princesslinda for this one, she gave me the spinach mix recipe:

I was not a fan of spinach before I ate this, but not I love this. I have a vegetarian friend who has requested this several times when coming to our home for dinner.

I have tweaked the original recipe slightly (added Garlic, more cayenne pepper.


Portobello Mushrooms with Spinach Maria Filling
Ingredients
• 2 Packets Frozen thaw overnight in fridge, squeeze out excess water (I tend to use 2 bags of fresh baby spinach from Tesco)
• 1 pk 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 onion diced (I used a large onion and chopped it, not too small so as to keep a bit of crunch)
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese or more to taste
• 1-3 teaspoon butter (I probably used about 2-3 teaspoons)
• 1 clove garlic minced (more if you like garlic, I typically use 3-4)
• 1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• ½ -1 teaspoon paprika
• 4 Large Portobello mushrooms (stalks removed)
• Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Totally thaw spinach and squeeze out excess water. If using fresh spinach, wilt it in pot with a little water and then squeeze it out.
2. Sauté onion and Garlic in butter until tender.
3. Add cream cheese and stir until melted.
4. Add parmesan cheese, paprika and cayenne pepper.
5. Add spinach
6. Cook for several minutes more on stove top. Stir until well blended.
7. Fill mushrooms with spinach & cheese mix
8. Cook mushrooms in oven, just before finished top with cheddar cheese

[kmac]

Thanks for all the good ideas. Moonglo--you are right that there are sooooo many ideas out there and I would want to avoid bread crumbs I think. Seafood and cheese are probably the main ingredients in the ones I have enjoyed in the past and I just use regular mushrooms though I may try portabello because it sounds good too. I tried my own concoction and it didn't stay put--tasted ok but melted all over the pan and looked not so great. I will try again with the ideas suggested. Dave--I like the sound of the spinach filling as well. Really different and I am sure delish. Thanks everyone!

Kathi