Portobello mushrooms are mature chestnut mushrooms (also known as common mushroom, champignon de Paris, button mushroom, cremini etcetera). Ideal to stuff and serve as a starter. We found them stuffed with ratatouille, with blue cheese and walnuts, with shrimps, with sausage and peppers: it seems anything goes! We decided to remain close to the flavour of the mushroom by stuffing them with chestnut mushrooms, shiitake and oregano. We topped them with taleggio, a semi-soft cheese from Italy with a mild taste. It melts easily, so you need to keep an eye on your oven! If you can’t get hold of taleggio, then use mozzarella instead and add a bit more flavour to the mushroom stuffing.

Wine Pairing

We decided to enjoy a glass of Viognier, made by Domaine Coudoulet in the Languedoc (France). The wine has aromas of peach and anise. The taste is fresh with a hint of orange zest. In general, we recommend a fresh, lightly fruity, unoaked white wine.

What You Need

• For the Mushroom Stuffing
  • 150 grams of Button Mushrooms and Shiitake
  • one small Shallot
  • one Garlic Clove
  • Oregano
  • Black Pepper
  • (Excellent) Olive Oil
• 2 Portobello mushrooms
• Taleggio

What You Do

1. Clean and chop the button mushrooms and shiitake
2. Finely chop the oregano, the shallot and the garlic
3. Gently fry the shallot in olive oil in a heavy iron skillet
4. Add the mushrooms and fry on medium heat
5. Reduce heat
6. Add herbs and garlic
7. Continue on low heat for 10-15 minutes
8. Transfer the mushroom mix to a plate and let cool
9. Add some olive oil to make the mixture smoother
10. Taste and add some black pepper
11. Store in the refrigerator
12. Preheat your oven to 180 °C or 355 °F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
13. Remove the stem of the portobello
14. Using a small spoon, scrape out the dark gills from the caps
15. Generously brush both sides of the caps with olive oil
16. Slice the taleggio (with crust!)
17. Stuff the portobello with the mushroom mixture and top with slices of cheese
18. If you’re a true lover of taleggio: add a slice of cheese to the cap before stuffing with the mushroom mixture
19. Transfer the mushrooms to the oven for 15 minutes
20. (optional) During the last minutes increase to 200 °C or 400 °F
21. Serve immediately.