Mushrooms are at their best in autumn, so make the most of the end of the season with these large stuffed mushrooms. Filled with garlic, cream cheese, shallots, thyme and spinach. You could either create these large ones are use the filling for lots of smaller mushrooms. That would be great as an appetiser for a party.

The recipe comes together in no time and couldn’t be simpler. I like to clean the gills from mine (the brown scale like interior.) But it’s completely up to you. There are a wide range of large varieties to choose from at this time of year. It’s good to remember that mushrooms release a lot of water when cooked, so make sure your mixture isn’t too wet. You can help this by allowing your filling to completely cool before mixing it with the cream cheese.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Serves: 2-3 large or 15 small

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 35-45 mins

Total time: 45-55 mins

* Make vegan by using vegan cream cheese

* Make gluten free by using gluten free breadcrumbs or switching it out for blitzed walnuts

* Smaller mushrooms will need less time to cook in the oven (around 15-20 mins)

Ingredients

3 large mushrooms
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, finely chopped
30g panko breadcrumbs + extra for topping
100g cream cheese
40g spinach, finely chopped
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Olive oil or butter
Fresh parsley for topping (optional)
Grating fo fresh parmesan for topping (optional)

Directions

Rinse and prep your mushrooms, remove the stems and set aside. Remove the internal gills and pop them in the compost. Chop spinach and set aside.
Preheat your oven to 200c/gas mark 6, grab a medium frying pan.
Finely chop your shallots, mushroom stems, mince garlic. Add them to the frying pan with a small drizzle of olive oil or a tsp of butter. Season with salt and pepper, cook until softened (around 5 mins) Remove from the heat and immediately stir in your chopped spinach, let it wilt and then set the pan aside to cool. I like to speed this up by putting the mixture on a side plate.
Once your mixture is cool, add it to a bowl with the cream cheese and breadcrumbs. Dollop mixture evenly into your mushrooms. I like to properly fill them in a small dome shape.
Top with some breadcrumbs and pop them in the oven for around 30 mins or until the breadcrumbs are golden and the mushrooms look fully cooked. Serve immediately.