Perusing the booths at the farmer’s market this weekend, I came across a selection of gorgeous portobello mushrooms.  So of course, I had to get some.  Much like my impulse eggplant purchase, I really had no idea what to do with these fungi.  I did some searching for a good stuffed portobello mushroom recipe, and after sifting through mostly unappealing recipes, I finally settled on this one.

I took some creative (or culinary?) liberties with this recipe.  The ingredients: shredded mozzarella, fresh ricotta, bread crumbs, olive oil, dried basil, chili powder, 3 cheese parmesan blend, fresh ground pepper, salt, an egg, fresh thyme (also picked up at the farmer’s market!), garlic and of course, the fabulous mushrooms:

I started out by crisping the thyme leaves in olive oil and sautéing the minced garlic:

Next up was mixing together the parmesan, ricotta, seasonings, egg, olive oil, thyme and garlic:

I was about to stuff the mushrooms with the mixture, but I had a divine culinary intervention.  I have these extraordinary walnuts from Austria sitting in a bowl in my kitchen.  I have yet to find any other walnuts as amazing as these.  Ever so slightly sweet and buttery.  Yes, buttery.  It’s the closest word I can find to describe them.  They say walnuts are good for your brain…and it sort of looks like one too:

So I took 2 of these walnuts and crumbled them into the stuffing, adding a nice crunch to the texture and a bit of protein too:

I cut off the stems of the mushrooms, filled each one with the stuffing, sprinkled on some bread crumbs and topped both of them with shredded mozzarella.

10-15 minutes later at 350° in the oven et viola, a finished work of portobello mushroom art:

Two other great finds at the farmer’s market this weekend: lime and mint.  Add some sparkling lime water, simple syrup and rum and I had myself a very yummy mojito to complete the meal:)

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Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms (adapted from this lovely find)

Ingredients
2 portobello mushroom caps
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/8 cup fresh parmesan, grated
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 chilli powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded (I generally halved the ingredients…except I doubled the mozzarella:))

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Using a paring knife, remove stems from all mushroom caps. Wipe down mushrooms with a wet cloth to remove all dirt. Do not wash or rinse mushrooms. Set aside.
3. In a medium skillet, heat oil and sauté garlic until fragrant. Add thyme leaves and cook until crisp. Remove from heat.
4. In a small bowl, mix ricotta cheese and parmesan. Season to taste with dried basil, chilli powder, black pepper and salt. Mix well.
5. Mix in egg.
6. Add thyme and garlic to cheese mixture. Mound mixture into mushroom cap. Top with 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs per mushroom, followed by mozzarella cheese.
7. Bake in a cake tin or roasting pan for 15-20 minutes until the mozzarella has turned golden brown.
8. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm.

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