Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Zucchini & Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms


Joey and I discuss "nature vs. nurture" quite often when it comes to Caroline.  Is she inherently awesome, or is it a product of our awesome parenting?  ;-)  Though in all seriousness, she is a very good eater, and we discuss it at length.  Is it because we are constantly introducing her to new foods, or is it just because she loves to eat?  I guess we'll find out when our second child starts eating table foods, but for now I like to think that I at least had a little something to do with it.  I'm quite sure that I'll screw her up in other areas of life, but at least I know I did something right - she does love to eat vegetables.

We've been eating a lot of zucchini lately - baked zucchini fries, grilled or broiled zucchini, zucchini bread, zucchini on pizza... it has yet to get old.  So far Caroline has enjoyed the grilled zucchini the most.  She actually had a third helping yesterday!  "Please more 'kini please!"

I was definitely intrigued when I found this recipe for zucchini and shrimp stuffed mushrooms, because I loved the idea of stuffing mushrooms with more veggies.  I loved the lighter take on them, but I had my own inspiration for the filling.  I love the combination of zucchini and goat cheese, so I ran with that instead.  It's a very simple filling, amped up with the addition of garlic, herbs, and cheese.

As expected, Caroline ate her fair share.  And of course I loved them too:  but then again you could stuff pretty much anything with goat cheese and I'm happy!




Zucchini and Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Pink Parsley original, inspired by Living Lou
  • 10 large button or cremini mushrooms, wiped clean, and stems removed but reserved
  • 1 cup grated zucchini (about half a medium zucchini)
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 Tbs olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 oz. cream cheese, softened (reduced fat is fine)
  • 2 oz. (1/4 cup) crumbled goat cheese
  • 2 Tbs grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
  • 3 Tbs dried breadcrumbs
  • 2 Tbs minced fresh basil
  • 2 Tbs snipped fresh chives
  • kosher salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Finely chop the mushroom stems.  Toss the zucchini in a colander with a little salt and allow to drain 5-10 minutes, then wrap in a paper towel and squeeze to remove excess moisture.

Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the shallot, mushroom stems, and zucchini, and saute until the vegetables have softened, 3-4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the cream cheese, goat cheese, Parmesan, bread crumbs, and herbs.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Scoop the filling into each of the mushroom caps.  Drizzle with additional olive oil.  Bake 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and the mushrooms are cooked through.  Serve immediately.


14 comments:

Cate said...

Oooh I have everything I need to make these in my fridge right now, and they look fantastic!
I reeeeally hope this kid is a good eater. I was never very picky and my husband and I eat a ton of vegetables, so hopefully she'll take after us!

Becki's Whole Life said...

These look sooo good. I love anything with goat cheese. Thanks for the recipe. This is a nice change from the traditional stuffed mushrooms!

Kelsey said...

These look incredible. I mean, how could they be bad with that ingredient list?

p.s. Caroline's awesomeness is so due to your awesome genetics AND awesome parenting!

Anonymous said...

These little guys sound amazing! Great recipe!

branny said...

Caroline *is* so awesome. I don't care how she got there!

Nicole, RD said...

Ever since having Maggiano's stuffed mushrooms, I've loved them...but never made them! All I need it the mushrooms because my garden is pumping out the basil and zucchini! :)

Katie said...

This looks wonderful! I have lots of 'kini I need to use up. :)

Maryanna said...

These look DIVINE!!!

Heidi @ Food Doodles said...

Those look awesome! I love stuffed mushrooms :D

Mushrooms Canada said...

Stuffed mushrooms are seriously one of my favs! So easy & tasty... and you can pretty much stuff them with whatever you have in your fridge!
- Brittany

Unknown said...

I'm onboard to make these! Anything stuffed with cheese... :D

Anonymous said...

Yum! I just got to your post from Pintrest. I will make these this weekend. Let's see if my one year old likes them :)

Anonymous said...

My husband is a TERRIBLY picky eater. I look at his parents and so are they. I don't know if it's nature or nurture, but I'll tell ya, the apple doesn't fall from from the tree. My parents aren't picky, and neither am I. It'll be interesting to see how all parenting ideas/theories are disrupted by the 2nd (for myself included, we have 1 right now). I'd eat the entire batch of zucchini and goat cheese mushrooms, YUM!

cathy @ Noble Pig said...

What a great idea to use up the zucchini! These are beutiful and I love the goat cheese in here, such a great flavor. I have one picky eater and one great eater...my boys couldn't be more different. The picky one, it started at 8 months old when he would swat the spoon away as it came toward him in the highchair...good times.

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