It's National Vegetarian Week once again, so here's a quick and easy recipe to show you that being veggie isn't all about lentils, and that life certainly is not too short to stuff a mushroom!
These stuffed mushrooms can be eaten as a starter, lunch or main meal, depending on the portion size and what you serve with them.
Serves 3-4 as a starter or lunch (2-3 mushrooms each, depending on size).
- 8 or 9 large flat mushrooms (Portabello type)
- 200g/8oz fresh spinach, washed
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- a little fresh nutmeg
- 50g/2oz vegetarian Brie (rind removed), roughly chopped
- 50g/2oz grated Parmesan-style hard cheese
Put the spinach into a large bowl. Do not add any water!
Cover with cling film and microwave for 2-3 minutes on high, or until cooked. Allow to cool, then squeeze as much moisture out as possible, and chop or blend roughly.
Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan or griddle and preheat the oven to 180C/170C Fan/Gas 4/350F.
Peel the outer skin from the mushrooms and remove the stalks.
Drizzle the mushrooms with a little olive oil and cook for around 5 minutes on a medium-high heat, turning occasionally. Remove from the pan and place in a dish or on a baking tray.
Chop the mushroom stalks finely.
Gently fry the onion and mushroom stalks in a drop of olive oil for a few minutes, then add the garlic, nutmeg and parsley. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
Then add the cooked spinach and cheeses and stir well to combine all of the ingredients.
Top each mushroom with a tablespoon of the spinach mixture (at this point you could chill the mushrooms and re-heat later).
Pop into the oven for 5-10 minutes to heat through.
Serve with salad and bread. Not suitable for freezing.
Top tips: Cook the mushrooms on a barbecue. Top with the pre-made spinach mixture and warm through. These mushrooms would also make a tasty main course served pasta.
Vegan version: Swap the dairy cheeses for your preferred vegan cheese alternatives.
I'm linking this post to the Meat Free Mondays round-up over at Tinned Tomatoes.
Visit the Kitchen Table!
Celebrate your food, stories and traditions.
National Vegetarian Week 16 - 22 May 2016
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I must admit I have never eaten real Jamaican rice 'n' peas, so I do apologise if this version isn't quite traditional. It does taste good though; it's cheap and easy to make and it's vegan!
Serves 3-4
For the rice
- 1 can gungo/pigeon peas or red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup of long grain rice, rinsed and drained
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 fresh chilli, finely sliced/chopped
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 cups of coconut milk (or use 1 can and make up to 2 cups/450ml)
- salt and black pepper
- A few sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan. Gently fry the onion until soft. Add the chilli and garlic and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
Add the rice and stir.
Add all of the remaining ingredients (except the peas/beans) and mix together. Bring to a simmer then cover the pan and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Add the beans and stir.
Cook with the lid on, for a further 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and allow to continue steaming whilst you cook the mushrooms...
For the jerk mushrooms
- 450g/1lb chestnut or white mushrooms, quartered
- 2-3 tsp jerk seasoning (add more/less to taste)
- 4 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 2-4 tbsp water
Sauté the mushrooms in 1 tbsp vegetable oil for a few minutes, until starting to brown.
Reduce the heat and add the seasoning. Cook for a further minute.
Finally add the tomato ketchup and water and stir again (add a little extra water for a thinner sauce). Taste and add more jerk seasoning if needed.
Cook for another minute or so.
Serve the rice topped with the jerk mushrooms.
Vegetarian option: Swap the mushrooms for meat-free/Quorn chicken-style pieces, if you prefer.
Extra veg option: Add a cup of frozen vegetables (peas, sweetcorn, green beans etc.) to the rice when you add the peas/beans.
Child-friendly option: For younger children, or those who don't like spicy food, omit the fresh chilli, remove their portion of rice and peas and then spice up the remaining rice with a good sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Just add a pinch of jerk seasoning to the mushrooms at first, remove their portion and then add the remaining seasoning.
I'm adding this recipe to the Credit Crunch Munch, created by Helen and Camilla and hosted this month by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours.
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