Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

This recipe is a crowd pleaser. Take the time to make these and you will be a hit. They are superb on the grill but are easy to broil in your oven too. Either way, the portobello has a rich and meaty flavor and texture without the artery clogging capacity of a steak. You can make these a couple of hours ahead and keep in the refrigerator until grilling time.

Stuffed in this recipe means gently pushing small bits of goodies in between the gills of the mushroom, so these are slightly time consuming. Enlist a friend or two to help. Because you are stuffing these and serving them whole, as opposed to slicing them, choose mushrooms with unbroken caps and the gills in tact (even though you're going to break some of those gills soon enough). If you like, you can try to purchase caps of similar size but, depending on how many you need, this might be a challenge.

For the actual act of stuffing, I employ the thicker end of a wooden chopstick with great success. The thinner end of the chopstick works great for the bits of fresh herbs. So let's get started. You will need:

2 (at least) good-sized portobello mushrooms
extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper to taste

Stuffing ideas: More often than not, I stuff these with roughly chopped garlic pieces, pine nuts, bits of parmesean cheese and slices of torn basil. If that sounds good to you, then gather those ingredients.

Other herb ideas: parsley, cilantro, rosemary.
Other cheese ideas: feta, manchego, asiago, pecorino romano.

Before stuffing, slice off the mushroom stems but DO NOT DISCARD. I'm always amazed when recipes advise to discard perfectly edible parts of things. Use the stems chopped into a soup, diced into a pilaf, sliced into a salad - it's still mushroom. Using the thicker end of the chopstick, gently push a small piece of garlic/pine nut/cheese/fresh herb down into the gills of the cap. Go all the way around the cap, alternating ingredients until the cap is as full of goodies as you like. I drizzle with oil and often sprinkle with the leftover extra cheese, garlic, herbs like a marinade. But don't season yet. You don't want the salt to draw out all the moisture while you wait to grill. If you're grilling immediately, then season with abandon.

I usually keep these in the refrigerator about an hour while I ready the rest of the meal. To grill, cook on medium-high heat. I wouldn't turn these unless you want to loose all that hard work you stuffed into them. They're done when the cheese gets some browning on it. Same for the inside oven broiler. I should note that these remain a little wetter when done under the broiler so broil them on a rack set on a cookie sheet. You can eat these with a knife and fork or inside a bun or bagel. They are good the next day too. I wouldn't heat them in the microwave. Wrap in foil and heat in the oven or quickly under the broiler. Enjoy!

What else could you stuff these with? Ideas?