My current favourite way with big, meaty mushrooms: stuff them with a creamy spinach ricotta filling, cover with a crunchy topping then bake until golden. It’s filling and fabulous and makes a great meal for 4 or a starter for 8.
This is a great one to assemble today and bake tomorrow, or the day after. Love getting ahead!
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
280g baby spinach (8 heaped cups)
8 large field mushrooms (about 9cm diameter)
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
½ tsp cooking salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 cup ricotta (270g)
150g colby cheese, grated (or tasty cheese, gruyere or cheddar)
½ cup (30g) panko breadcrumbs
⅛ tsp cooking salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
Mix the crunchy topping ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
For the filling: heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Working in batches, squeeze excess residual water out of the spinach using a wooden spoon against the side of the pan. Place the spinach in a mixing bowl. Add spring onion, garlic, salt, pepper and ricotta and mix until combined.
Prepare the mushrooms: Trim off the stalks (reserve to toss into your next stir-fry), then cut a 2cm X incision in the cap, all the way through (see note). Rub the top of the mushroom caps with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
Stuff the mushrooms with the filling. Top with colby, followed by the crunchy topping.
Place the mushrooms on a rack set on a baking tray (see note). Bake for 30 minutes. Rest 5 minutes before serving.
Note: The X incision, and roasting the mushrooms on a rack elevated off the tray, allows the watery mushroom juices to drain out while cooking − because nobody wants a soggy spinach-ricotta filling in their mushrooms.
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