Pesto-y Stuffed Mushrooms

If I’m being totally honest, this has to be one of the most stomach-turning meals I have made at uni, if not the worst. Although I was working from a recipe, I didn’t have enough mushrooms, therefore there was too much stuffing on each portion, which became sickly. Also, this meal was made in the slow cooker, which is fantastic for making beautiful moist dishes…however, this was to my disadvantage, as I found my three Portobellos swimming in liquid, having been trapped for several hours in a hot bath of oozing mozzerella and too much Aldi jarred pesto. This sounds gross. It kinda was.

Nonetheless, I am including this recipe, in case someone tries it and it goes well, and in case I try it again – I’m thinking that next time I will leave the lid off of the slow cooker, and that this will evaporate the liquid that make this meal so dissatisfying. Maybe I’ll even forgo the slow cooker altogether, and opt instead for a quick go in the oven.

I feel as though my dislike for cheese also contributed to this minor disaster – perhaps the texture of the grated mozzerella, which I used as a substitute for both the mascarpone and mozzerella ball, wasn’t terribly suited to the outcome of the dish.

Anyway, here’s the recipe, if you’re brave enough to try it! It serves roughly 2 people.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 large Portobello mushrooms
• 100g / 4oz light mascarpone
• zest and juice of ½ lemon
• 4 tbsp basil pesto
• 125g ball light mozzerella, chopped
• 25g / 1oz dried breadcrumbs (I cheated, and toasted some bread and then crumbled it!)
• BBC Good Food recommend serving with a rocket and tomato salad

Method:

1. Remove the stems of the mushrooms and chop finely. Fry lightly in an oiled pan alongside the onion, until both are soft.
2. Put the onion and mushroom into a bowl to cool a bit.
3. Add the mascarpone (or like me, don’t!), lemon zest, pesto, mozzerella, and salt and pepper to season.
4. Heat the slow cooker to High, and grease the inside with a bit of oil. Place the whole Portobello mushrooms in, making sure they form a single layer.
5. Divide up the stuffing between the mushrooms – I recommend not overfilling, as I believe this is what helped create the stuffing bath!
6. Sprinkle on the breadcrumbs and some more pepper, then set the timer to cook for 3hrs – until the mushrooms are tender. BBC Good Food advise putting on the lid, although I am not sure this is the best way to go – perhaps for the first hour and then remove it? I’d just leave it off altogether!
7. When finished, you can either serve as it is, or you can place the mushrooms onto a baking tray and crisp up underneath the grill, perhaps adding some more cheese on top. Personally I chose to do this, as it gave it a nicer golden colour, and helped to evaporate a bit of the liquid in the mixture which made it less mushy.

Maybe in the future it would be good to experiment with the filling, including chopped peppers, bits of olive, maybe even some pieces of halloumi. This meal defo needs some more crunch – I served mine with toast, which was the saving grace of the whole meal!

There you go…try it if you dare, and I don’t blame you if you don’t!

Harriet

Costs: from Tesco, about £5.80. This was DEFINITELY cheaper in Aldi!