Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

📝 Ingredients

• 12 large white mushrooms (about 40 g each)
• 150 g plain full-fat cream cheese (about 22% fat)
• 1 shallot (about 30 g)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 15 g fresh parsley
• 30 g breadcrumbs (15 g for the stuffing, 15 g for the top)
• 30 g grated Parmesan (15 g for the stuffing, 15 g for the top)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Baking sheet
• Baking paper
• Frying pan
• Bowl
• Teaspoon
• Cutting board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Clean the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper rather than under running water: waterlogged, they'd release liquid in the oven. Gently remove the stalks by twisting them between your fingers.
2. Lightly hollow out the caps with the teaspoon to enlarge the cavity, without piercing the bottom. Finely chop the stalks and trimmings, then the shallot, garlic and parsley, keeping each ingredient separate.
3. Heat the olive oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the shallot for 2 min, then add the chopped stalks and garlic. Cook for 5 min, stirring, until the liquid released by the mushrooms has completely evaporated: a wet stuffing would make the mushrooms soggy.
4. Off the heat, leave to cool slightly for 2 min, then mix in the bowl with the cream cheese, parsley, 15 g breadcrumbs and 15 g Parmesan. Season lightly with salt (the Parmesan is already salty) and generously with pepper.
5. Arrange the mushroom caps on the baking tray lined with baking paper, hollow side up. Fill them with the stuffing using the teaspoon, forming a small dome and pressing down lightly so it doesn't collapse.
6. Mix the remaining breadcrumbs and Parmesan, then sprinkle over each mushroom. Bake for 15 min, until the tops are golden brown and the mushrooms are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
7. Leave to rest for 3 to 5 min before serving: the stuffing is scalding hot straight out of the oven. Add a grind of pepper and serve warm, as a nibble with drinks or as a starter.