Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Mushrooms

After a sudden impulse to make stuffed mushrooms, I found a few recipes that involved 2 of my favorite combined ingredients: spinach and artichokes. Even though Rachel Ray sometimes gets a bad rap (for whatever reason, I'm not really even sure), Meghan and I agreed I should give her a shot, and hey, her recipe didn't involve mayonnaise, so why not?

The recipe is simple and straightforward, but I'd recommend a few changes from the original version. Rachel Ray says to roast the mushrooms stem side up...but after drizzling the mushrooms with olive oil, big pools of watery oil form in the caps, which you then have to shake off. On the flip side, if you roast the mushrooms cap side down, the mushrooms stick a little to the pan and you have to turn them over to stuff them anyway, but I preferred this over watery mushrooms.

A couple more things... Ray doesn't say to top the mushrooms off with parmesan cheese; I tried this when I made them again yesterday (I had a lot of leftover stuffing - the 24-36 mushrooms, unless they are enormous - don't call for this much filling) and it added to the flavor. Spinach and artichokes are delicious, but they are earthy, so this recipe definitely needs salt to add flavor.

Lastly, I'm not a big fan of referring to extra virgin olive oil as EVOO. Not going to happen here.

Ingredients

Up to 40-45 (depending on size) cremini (baby portobello)mushrooms, stems removed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
Salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 small or 1/2 medium onion
Nutmeg, to taste (I used allspice because I didn't have any nutmeg)
1 14oz can artichoke hearts
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus a little more for topping
1 10oz box defrosted chopped spinach, squeezed dry
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. On a baking sheet, place mushrooms caps stem side down, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10-12 minutes until tender.

3. Meanwhile, add garlic, onion, olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to a food processor and pulse to chop. Add artichokes and cheese and pulse again. Add spinach and egg yolks and pulse. Add in heavy cream and pine nuts and combine.

4. Fill mushroom caps with mixture and top mushrooms with grated cheese. Bake for another 10-12 minutes.


The original recipe calls for 24-36 mushrooms, I probably made about 50-55 all total. Some of them were small though.


Stuffing:

Hence the recommendation to roast them stem side down: watery oil pools!