Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

May 18, 2005

The Pharaohs of Egypt were rather partial to mushrooms so they decreed that the fungi were food for royalty only, and commoners must never touch them - a fairly crafty way of ensuring any supplies would be solely for them.

Mushrooms have been eaten in Europe, Russia, China and Japan for thousands of years. Mushroom gathering is a popular seasonal pastime in many countries with families jealously guarding the whereabouts of their own secret mushroom locations.

France was the leader in the formal cultivation of mushrooms and around the time of Louis XIV mushrooms were grown in special caves near Paris.

Here in New Zealand, the only way to get mushrooms onto the dinner plate used to involve a trip to the countryside to gather field mushrooms. Then along came the cultivated variety and mushrooms were available all year round. In recent years various kinds of Asian mushrooms have become freely available at commercial outlets. Dried French, Italian and Asian mushrooms have also expanded the cook's horizons. A few dried mushrooms, reconstituted in warm water and added to a mushroom dish will certainly add depth to the flavour. Some chefs even pulverise dried mushrooms in a coffee/spice grinder by way of a shortcut to enhancing the mushroom taste.

May is mushroom month and many supermarkets are having in-store promotions. They used to say life was too short to stuff a mushroom, but in fact it's worth taking some time out to do just that.

Medium-sized brown mushrooms are ideal for this as they already have a good flavour of their own.

This recipe is a very simple one and can be used as accompaniment to the brunch bacon at the weekend, as an entree or as an accompaniment to meat.

Spinach-stuffed mushrooms

12 brown mushrooms about 8-10cm in diameter
1 bag spinach (about 400g)
1 large red onion
1 tablespoon butter
nutmeg, salt and freshly milled pepper
grated tasty cheese

Rinse the spinach and shake off the excess water. Remove the stalks and finely shred the leaves. Halve the onion and cut into very fine slices.

Melt the better in a shallow pan and saute the onion and spinach for five minutes. Sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon the spinach mixture into the mushroom cavities and top with the grated cheese. Place the filled mushrooms in an oiled baking dish and bake at 200C for 15 minutes.

Makes 4-6 servings.