Stuffed Mushrooms
These mushrooms are filled with a delicious mixture of finely chopped zucchini, spinach and hazelnuts, then topped with grated Parmesan cheese and baked for delicious, hard-to-resist party bites. They look their best if the mushrooms are all about the same size.
Mushrooms
16 large mushrooms
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 small zucchini, finely chopped
1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped baby spinach leaves, plus a few leaves to serve
Garnish
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) fresh whole-wheat bread crumbs
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped hazelnuts
2 tbsp (25 mL) finely chopped parsley
1⁄3 cup (75 mL) grated
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
• Mushrooms provide useful amounts of some of the B vitamins and copper. This trace mineral has several functions—it is found in many enzymes, and is needed for bone growth as well as for the formation of connective tissue.
• Stuffed mushrooms are a classic party appetizer. Traditionally the mushrooms are made with plenty of melted butter to hold the filling together. In this recipe, only 1 tbsp (15 mL) of butter is used, and the zucchini provides moisture and serves as a binder.
• Hazelnuts were known in China 5,000 years ago and were also eaten by the Romans. They are a particularly good source of vitamin E and most of the B vitamins (with the exception of vitamin B12).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped mushroom stems, shallots, garlic and zucchini, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chopped spinach, bread crumbs, hazelnuts, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Place the mushroom caps, hollow side up, in a single layer in a lightly sprayed shallow ovenproof dish or on a lightly sprayed baking tray. Heap some of the shallot and zucchini mixture into each mushroom cap and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top. (The mushrooms can be prepared 2 to 3 hours ahead and kept, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator.)
- Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the cheese has melted, about 15 minutes. Serve warm, on a bed of spinach leaves, if desired.
Preparation time 25–30 minutes
Cooking time 15 minutes
Makes 16 mushrooms
Each serving (one mushroom) provides: calories 53, calories from fat 36, fat 4 g, saturated fat 1 g, cholesterol 4 mg, carbohydrate 4 g, fibre 1 g, sugars 1 g, protein 2 g.
Choices per serving: Fat 1, Extra 1
