Q: Why did the Fungi leave the party?
A: There wasn’t mushroom.
-insert awkward silence/laughter here- Yup, I know, that was a mushroom joke, but you gotta admit it was pretty funny. Okay, kind of funny. Just laugh!
I love mushrooms, and if it was my party, no one would ever tell that joke. Mushrooms are always welcome on my plate. It’s kind of weird that I love to eat a fungus so much…but what’s not to love? They’re like the ‘meat’ of the veggie world and can be used in a variety of dishes and cuisines. If you don’t want to have a meat burger, you can always sub it with a portobello mushroom burger and still be pleasantly satisfied.
Stuffed mushrooms are delicious and one of my favorite appetizers to make. Whenever I’m at BJ’s restaurant, I always have to have that as my appetizer…they’re just so satisfying. Meaty, lemony, flavorful and perfectly spiced. In the past, the stuffed mushrooms I would make utilized cream cheese as the major ingredient, which, while delicious, is not something I choose to use now. I was looking online for an alternative recipe that didn’t contain cheese, or meat but was still delicious, and it proved to be somewhat of a challenge. So, I decided to come up with one on my own!
If I do say so myself, this recipe is fantastic. It’s a lovely vegan spin on stuffed mushrooms without using any vegan cheese, or meat! I made this last night, and had to run to the store this morning to get some more mushrooms because it was so good. (I’m drooling as I type this waiting for the oven timer to go off)
I always have stuffing leftover, which you can spread on a slice of baguette, or better yet, eat on its own. Yum.
This would make a great, low-calorie, healthy appetizer at any upcoming Superbowl parties you may have!
Ingredients
- 12-15 white mushrooms, washed
- 1/4 cup corn
- 4-5 medium garlic cloves
- 2-3 small carrots, peeled
- 5-6 jalapeno slices (mild)
- 8-10 grape tomatoes
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
- 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
- 1/2-1 tsp black pepper powder
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup italian breadcrumbs
- Olive oil, extra-virgin
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and prepare baking tray lined with foil.
- Wash mushrooms thoroughly, and remove stems.
- Add mushroom stems, garlic, carrots, jalapenos, cilantro and tomatoes to the food processor. Pulse until the vegetables are finely chopped.
- Heat bout 2Tbsp of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add in the chopped vegetables and stir.
- Add in the corn along with the spices and stir to evenly coat.
- Let them cook for about 5 minutes till the mushroom stems start giving off water. At this point you can add in the juice of half a medium sized lemon.
- Taste, and add salt accordingly. You can add more cayenne if you need to increase the spiciness.
- Finally, add in the breadcrumbs and mix.
- Take off the heat, and start filling the mushroom caps. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake at 400F for 30 minutes.
- Squeeze more lemon juice over the stuffed mushrooms...Serve & Enjoy.