I have presented stuffed mushrooms in many different ways but I was up for a challenge when my vegetarian friend asked for a spin on a sausage-stuffed mushroom. An easy fix was using vegetarian style beef that tastes just like the real thing.

Ingredients:

• 12 large button mushrooms
• ½ cup of vegetarian meat substitute
• ¼ cup finely diced white onion
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced (about a ½ teaspoon)
• ¾ cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
• ¾ cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated
• ¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus 4 tablespoon for cooking preparation.
• water
• 4 slices of mozzarella or provolone cheese.

Serves 6 (2 per person)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Clean the mushrooms with a damp towel. Do not submerge them in water because they will absorb the water and become rubbery. Remove the stems and chop the stems into small pieces. Using a spoon, scoop out the gills of the mushroom and discard. Place the mushrooms in a shallow baking dish closely together.

To prepare the sausage, add a small amount of olive oil (1/2 tablespoon) to a saute pan on medium heat. After the oil is warm, add the finely diced onions sauteing for 1 minute and add the vegetarian meat substitute and the minced garlic until cooked through. Season with salt and a little pepper.

Place a teaspoon of the “meat” mixture into the bottom of each mushroom.

In a small bowl combine the diced mushroom pieces with the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano Reggiano, parsley and pepper. Once fully blended, drizzle in the 1/4 cup of olive oil until the mixture is moistened but not soggy.

Fill the mushroom caps generously with stuffing mixture using all of the mixture. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the stuffed mushrooms. Pour water into the bottom of the baking dish just until even across the bottom. Cover with foil.

Bake mushrooms in the 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cover with slices of cheese covering all of the mushrooms. Return to the oven uncovered for another 10 minutes.

If you would you like to have a crispier cheese place the finished mushrooms under a low broiler for 2-3 minutes until brown and bubbly. Keep a close eye on them to make sure they do not burn.

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