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Sausage-and-Cheddar-Stuffed Mushrooms

Source of Recipe

From "The Complete Small Plates Cookbook" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"An enduring small plate favorite, these stuffed mushrooms have serious mushroom flavor and an irresistible savory filling. We chose hot Italian sausage as the stuffing base and happily found that it doesn't need to be cooked first. We combine the raw sausage with tangy extra-sharp cheddar, scallions, panko to bind, a few splashes of white wine for acidity, fresh thyme, and minced garlic and use this mixture to fill the caps. Then we roast the mushrooms in a skillet in the oven. Using a skillet rather than a baking sheet to roast the mushrooms captures and concentrates the mushrooms' juice, resulting in deeper flavor as the mushrooms reabsorb this potent liquid. You will need about 1 � pounds of mushrooms to yield 24 filled mushrooms."

List of Ingredients

◦ 24 white mushrooms (1 � to 2 inches in diameter)
◦ 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
◦ 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
◦ 1 � teaspoons table salt, divided
◦ 1 teaspoon pepper, divided
◦ 12 ounces hot Italian sausage, casings removed
◦ 3 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (� cup)
◦ 4 scallions, sliced thin
◦ � cup panko bread crumbs
◦ 3 tablespoons white wine
◦ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
◦ 3 cloves garlic, minced
◦ � cup grated Parmesan cheese


Recipe

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Remove stems from mushrooms and chop half of stems fine; discard remaining stems. Whisk oil, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and � teaspoon pepper together in medium bowl. Add mushroom caps and toss to coat with oil mixture; set aside.

Using your hands, thoroughly combine sausage, cheddar, scallions, panko, wine, thyme, garlic, mushroom stems, remaining � teaspoon salt, and remaining � teaspoon pepper in bowl.

Spray 12-inch oven-safe skillet (or 13-by-9-inch baking dish) with vegetable oil spray. Fill mushroom caps with sausage mixture and place in prepared skillet. Sprinkle tops of filled mushrooms with Parmesan. Bake until cooked through and lightly browned on top, about 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Transfer to platter and serve.

Serves 6 to 8 (makes 24 stuffed mushrooms)






❧ Variation: Pizza-Flavored Stuffed Mushrooms

Substitute whole-milk mozzarella for cheddar, � cup chopped fresh basil for scallions, and � teaspoon dried Italian seasoning for thyme. Add � cup finely chopped pepperoni and 1 tablespoon tomato paste to sausage mixture.