A flavorful fungi, mushrooms are a versatile food that adds superb flavor and texture to many dishes. From rare and sought after morels and truffles to everyday portobellos and shiitakes, there are limitless ways to prepare these delicate, earthy morsels.
If you don’t feel like taking to the woods to forage for native species, your local market is sure to have at least half a dozen mushroom types on hand—including the common cremini. While less revered than its more exotic relatives, creminis (which are adolescent portobellos) are a fungus not to be overlooked. These hearty, button-shaped mushrooms resemble the common white mushroom (their even younger sibling), but don’t let this mushroom’s modest appearance fool you—creminis pack a powerful punch of flavor and are excellent for roasting on the grill, baking in the oven, or sautéing on the stove. They also happen to pair nicely with wine.
An affordable yet rich in flavor mushroom type, creminis are the perfect fungus for filling with sausage, cheese and breadcrumbs and serving as a pre-dinner app. And, because creminis offer a distinct, earthy flavor, these mushrooms are accented nicely when paired with a wine that appreciates the value of the soil its grown in. Revered for its outstanding Pinots, the Pinot Gris from Dundee, Oregon’s Erath Winery complements the flavor of these savory hors d’oeuvres well. With notes of lime and fruit, the citrus finish of this white makes it a lovely wine for cooking, sipping or both.
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Makes: 25 stuffed mushrooms
Ingredients:
12 ounces spicy ground Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup bread crumbs (plus more for topping)
¼ cup cream cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese
½ cup Erath Winery Pinot Gris
25 cremini mushrooms, de-stemmed
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375℉.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 3 minutes. Add sausage and garlic. Continue sautéing until onions are translucent in color and meat is fully cooked, about 6–8 minutes.
Add wine to sausage, onion, garlic mixture and cook until wine is reduced and there is little to no liquid left in the pan, about 2–3 minutes.
Add cream cheese, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and crush red pepper and combine well.
Spoon 1 tablespoon (more or less depending on size of mushroom) of filling into mushroom and place on baking sheet. Once all mushrooms have been filled, top with a sprinkle of bread crumbs and drizzle of remaining olive oil.
Bake in oven for 25 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender and filling is golden brown.
