Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

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.

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National Vegetarian Week 16 - 22 May 2016