Stuffed Mushroom with Crispy Crumb Topping Recipe

Finally I can write another post after one helluva hectic week last week! I am very thrilled to see a 1000+ page view...



Thank you whoever you are, I don't know if you are just bored, or procrastinating. or you really do come back for more posts... what ever your reason is, thank you! :)

Anyway, it's been a hectic week because I was actually catering for an event last Saturday and I need to prep it all by myself... I don't want to complain, because I love cooking so much, and especially for lots of people. But, it does get a bit stressing when time is running out and you do not have a commercial kitchen with huge oven and huge fridge... and uni life has not been that friendly too last week. So here I am tired as hell because I haven't slept in since last week. But talking about food is always therapeutic, right? So here's a recipe that my fans friend ask me to post on "gondo's kitchen", and thank you Janice, because it's a huge deal to get a request from someone, lol.

This is actually a recipe I came up with myself... It's too easy that I don't even feel like calling it a recipe. It's versatile and it's great because you can be as creative as you'd like or you can just stuff this shrooms with cheese only. I just like how this little thing can be so packed in flavor with lots of different texture: the crispyness from the crumb topping, the creamy and meaty stuffing, and a very moist mushroom.

This was one of the appetizer I used for my 'Gondo's Kitchen' session at home. It's a session in which I invited my friends over and I cooked them a three-courses meal, basically like playing restaurant. So if you are planning a dinner or simple finger food, this is a great idea because it can be kept frozen and only needs to be reheated for a few minutes...

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 mini portobello mushroom
• 125g cream cheese, room temperature
• 150g minced pork
• 1 brown onion
• 3 tbs olive oil + 1 tbs for frying pork
• 3-5 slices of stale bread (or fresh)
• any dried herbs you have, preferably parsley

METHOD:

Number one: preheat your oven to 200 degree C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

If using food processor: put your stale bread, any herbs, a pinch of salt and 3 tablespoons of oil in and mix until it represents a moist bread crumb.

If using hand: chop the bread finely and add the seasoning and herbs, then add the oil.

Remove the stem of your mushrooms and finely chop the mushroom stem.

Dice only half of your brown onion and in a heavy skillet, cook the onion in 1 tbs of oil on low heat until it goes translucent and fragrant. Put in your mince pork and mushroom stem, season with salt and pepper. The salt will draw the liquid out of the minced pork, so cook until the liquid has evaporated and the mince pork has gone brown and dry. Once done, cool it down in a bowl.

Meanwhile, brush your mushroom with oil and season with salt and pepper, set aside.

Once your pork is cooled, mix in the cream cheese and stir it through. Have a taste and decide if it needs more seasoning.  It is also a good idea to put dried herb at this stage.

Take one tablespoonful of the stuffing mixture and push it on top of the mushroom. Top the topping with the breadcrumb, and be generous!

And, YOU'RE DONE! How easy is that?

Put all the stuffed mushrooms on the baking tray and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the bread crumb is browned and the mushroom looks cooked. Serve it warm.

If you are planning on making in bulk and freeze some, do not pre-bake it. Put the stuffed mushroom in an airtight container and put in freezer. When baking a frozen stuffed mushroom, add a further 5 minutes to the baking time.

Enjoy!!!