Overstuffed Mushrooms

A creamy, cheesy dish which can be made vegetarian, served as a main or a starter. The natural juices from the mushrooms mixed with the creamy cheese makes for an sumptuous sauce. fresh citrus from the lemon zest cuts through the richness creating a well balanced flavour profile.

I tend to 'overstuff' my mushrooms as it is very difficult to find large enough mushrooms in supermarkets and don't want to scrimp on the filling! However, if you find very large mushrooms you may be able to fit it all in, or if you would prefer a neater looking dish then half the rest of the ingredients other than the mushrooms. The chicken is optional and can be removed to make a vegetarian dish.

I served mine up with rocket, spinach and tomato salad, dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning as well as grilled peppers.

Overstuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

Serves 2-4

• 4 portobello mushrooms

• 125g mascarpone or cream cheese

• 1 red onion, diced

• 3 tablespoons pesto

• 25g grated cheese

• 1/2 lemon zest

• 50g breadcrumbs

• 2 clove garlic, crushed

• 150g spinach

• 200g chicken breast chopped(optional)

Directions

1. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and dice the stalks

2. Heat oil in a pan

3. Fry off the onion, chicken breasts, mushroom stalks and garlic for 3-5 minutes, remove from pan and place in a bowl

4. Fry off the spinach until wilted and add to the bowl

5. Add the pesto, lemon zest, mascarpone and grated cheese to the bowl with the fried off ingredients and mix

6. Lightly oil the base of the slow cooker and lay down the mushrooms in the base of the slow cooker

7. Fill the mushrooms with the filling, it is ok if some of the filling falls out into the slow cooker

8. Top with the breadcrumbs and season, cook on low for 5 hours

9. Grill the mushrooms for a minute to get the breadcrumbs a bit more crispy (warning these will brown very quickly)

Let me know how you get on!