Seriously the best thing I've ever cooked!
I have been making crab-stuffed mushrooms for a while now. I had gotten a recipe from somewhere and decided to try my hand at it. It was a very simple recipe, which I have long since lost. Over time I've added little things here and there. Each time it was a little bettter or at least different. This time I fell in love with the process of cooking them and all the really fresh stuff I had at my disposal to add to my recipe. I even took lots of pics. So I'm going to do the best I can to tell you what went into it and how I did things. So here goes:
Presentation is
I started by making the crab filling. Two cans of very well drained crabmeat. Added fresh chopped green onions, cilantro, sea salt, pepper, Ms. Dash's Chipotle Southwest seasoning, thinly sliced clove of garlic, tumeric, celery seed, basil, freshly grated Guyere cheese and juice of half a lime. Each of these was added to taste. I let that all sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. I did it in advance of when i would need it, but it turned out to be an excellent idea as all the seasonings had a chance to meld.
After I set the filling aside, I decided to go ahead and marinate Portabella mushroom caps and Roma tomatoes in some homemade Balsamic vinegarette. I thought it would be nice to add a touch of lime to the marinade to tie the filling and the mushroom caps together. I had been using small sized limes recently purchased from the store. Some how I stumbled upon a large lime looking close to dead. I decided that I would use the juice from that for the mushroom/tomato marinade. That was THE best decision ever. The lime was soft and very juicy, so there was plenty of it. I set the mushrooms/tomatoes in the fridge until I was ready to cook them (a couple of hours later) rotating them and drizzling the marinade over them whenever I thought about it.
When I finally decided it was time for dinner I pulled everything out of the fride. I pan-seared, then braised the mushroom caps in the balsamic-lime marinade until each was a beautiful dark caramel color. Flipping them periodically and adding more marinade as I went.
I removed the mushroom caps from the frying pan and placed them in a baking dish. I placed a bit more than half a cup of filling on each of the 3 caps, which is actually a lot of filling. I probably could have made four out of this. after I had piled on the crabmeat stuffing. I placed a couple of the Roma tomaotes I'd marinated with the mushrooms on each one. Then I placed pieces of Prosciutto over that. I lightly sprinkled the tops of each mushroom with grated Asiago cheese. Then placed them in the oven I had preheated to about 350 degrees until the cheese on top was about to brown.
After I removed them from the oven, I placed them on a thin bed of baby spinach and spring mix salad. I also put the remaining marinated tomatoes on the plates and drizzled them with the remaining marinade for a dressing. I then sprinkled the tops with freshly chopped green onions and cilantro.
They came out beautiful and absolutely delicious. Braising them in the marinade, I think, only served to boost the amazing citrus compliment to the earthy meatiness of the Portebella. I have never been so proud of anything I've cooked. It was seriously, a restuarant quality dish. They were so good, I think i want to make them again this week.
Presentation is
I started by making the crab filling. Two cans of very well drained crabmeat. Added fresh chopped green onions, cilantro, sea salt, pepper, Ms. Dash's Chipotle Southwest seasoning, thinly sliced clove of garlic, tumeric, celery seed, basil, freshly grated Guyere cheese and juice of half a lime. Each of these was added to taste. I let that all sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. I did it in advance of when i would need it, but it turned out to be an excellent idea as all the seasonings had a chance to meld.
After I set the filling aside, I decided to go ahead and marinate Portabella mushroom caps and Roma tomatoes in some homemade Balsamic vinegarette. I thought it would be nice to add a touch of lime to the marinade to tie the filling and the mushroom caps together. I had been using small sized limes recently purchased from the store. Some how I stumbled upon a large lime looking close to dead. I decided that I would use the juice from that for the mushroom/tomato marinade. That was THE best decision ever. The lime was soft and very juicy, so there was plenty of it. I set the mushrooms/tomatoes in the fridge until I was ready to cook them (a couple of hours later) rotating them and drizzling the marinade over them whenever I thought about it.
When I finally decided it was time for dinner I pulled everything out of the fride. I pan-seared, then braised the mushroom caps in the balsamic-lime marinade until each was a beautiful dark caramel color. Flipping them periodically and adding more marinade as I went.
I removed the mushroom caps from the frying pan and placed them in a baking dish. I placed a bit more than half a cup of filling on each of the 3 caps, which is actually a lot of filling. I probably could have made four out of this. after I had piled on the crabmeat stuffing. I placed a couple of the Roma tomaotes I'd marinated with the mushrooms on each one. Then I placed pieces of Prosciutto over that. I lightly sprinkled the tops of each mushroom with grated Asiago cheese. Then placed them in the oven I had preheated to about 350 degrees until the cheese on top was about to brown.
After I removed them from the oven, I placed them on a thin bed of baby spinach and spring mix salad. I also put the remaining marinated tomatoes on the plates and drizzled them with the remaining marinade for a dressing. I then sprinkled the tops with freshly chopped green onions and cilantro.
They came out beautiful and absolutely delicious. Braising them in the marinade, I think, only served to boost the amazing citrus compliment to the earthy meatiness of the Portebella. I have never been so proud of anything I've cooked. It was seriously, a restuarant quality dish. They were so good, I think i want to make them again this week.