Pepita Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms

I'm sure you are all much relieved that this is the last Easter Brunch entries. These were quite easy to prepare and different than regular stuffed mushrooms - there are no breadcrumbs to be found in there!

Pepita Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms (adapted from Cooking Light)

20 cremini or white mushrooms, stems removed
2 T olive oil
6 T pepitas - toasted
1 c parsley
1 c cilantro
2 oz parmesan cheese
zest of 1 orange
2 T fresh orange juice
1 clove garlic minced
2 T olive oil
hot pepper flakes to taste
salt/pepper

Heat a large skillet and add a little olive oil. Place mushrooms in stem side up. Cook for about 5 minutes. You will start to see a little liquid gathering in the caps. Flip over and cook another 5 minutes or so. Place stem side down on paper towels to drain.

Place 4 T of peptias and the remaining ingredients, except olive oil, into a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are chopped. With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil. Taste - adjust seasoning. Fill each mushroom cap with pesto and top with remaining pepitas. The mushrooms can be browned ahead of time, as well as the pesto. Refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before filling.

I love toasting the pepitas. They are so much fun. They pop as they toast and sort of plump up. I usually throw a few extra in the frying pan than the recipe calls for because somehow I end up eating a few (OK quite a few) before they make it into the recipe.

Comments

New Kid on the Block

So here's a picture of the new kid on the block. Ain't she a beauty? It's a Blomberg . They are fairly new to the US. They have been around in Europe for quite a while. I really liked the design. I've been dying to have a freezer on the bottom. With the old refrigerator I would constantly lose brain cells by hitting my head on the freezer will poking around in the refrigerator. It really makes sense to have the refrigerator on top - that is where you spend most of your time. When we bought the old one, it was an emergency situation. The prior one was leaking on the floor and was no longer cooling. Fifteen years ago the freezer on the bottom was just starting to get popular but we were in no situation to wait for delivery. We had to take what they had on hand. Now the freezer on the bottom is by no means unique. What is - is this freezer's design. There are 3 compartments in the freezer. I used to have a chest freezer in the basement and everything would get los

Denver Eats

I had never been to Denver or Colorado for that matter and was quite excited to go. It was really beautiful. I cut out of a few of the conference sessions and went to the Amphitheater at Red Rocks. It was really cool. They had a listing of all the bands that played there. What was I doing in 1984 that I missed the Clash??! The restaurants were really great. Larimer Street had lots to offer. and it looked pretty too First I went to Rioja . I had a tough time deciding what to have. I opted for the Octopus Farfalle in an appetizer portion. I was glad that I did. It was a tad bit spicy and we all know what I baby I am when it comes to heat. Then I had the Scallops as a main course. It came with eggplant spanakopita. It was quite good. Sorry no pics, I was busy eating. For dessert, I had the variations of chocolate, which was beautiful as well as delicious. I at least took a picture of that. We were also treated to a mini beignet. I have to say it was better than the one that

Project Cassoulet - Pork Ragu

Plucking the bay leaf out of the Ragu Step 3: Pork Ragu. I couldn't decide which pot to use for this, but decided it was probably best to use the Dutch oven (not THE Dutch oven). You needed to add the beans to the pork ragu afterwards, so I thought it best to use a big pot. However, before assembling the cassoulet, you need to bring the pork ragu back up to a simmer. I thought it best to store it in the pot (one less container to clean). Thankfully the pot fit in the refrigerator. This was not that complicated. Brown the pork, add the remaining ingredients, and cook until tender, skimming the fat every once in a while. Once it was done, I added the beans. Since the beans were made the day before and chilled, this helped cool the ragu down a bit as well. Next time, I think cooking the beans and the ragu on the same day would be doable. Beans added and ready to chill

Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

Search This Blog