Stuffed mushrooms, then omelette stuffed with the leftover stuffed mushrooms

Recently I did a free Intermediate Cookery course in Greenwich (London, UK – you don’t have to live in Greenwich to attend) which was great fun and also made me realise that I’m probably not as terrible at cooking as I think I am. Though I still think I have a tendency to make meals by just ‘combining several heated items on a plate’ rather than the alchemy of creating something that’s greater than the sum of its parts, and which ’emerges’ from it (like a pie). These two recipes (stuffed mushrooms, then omelette containing leftovers) are somewhere between the two.

I’ve been trying out the stuffed mushrooms and really like this though I think I used too much oil in this batch.

(You can see photos, videos and recipe info of the cookery class I was at here on Flickr).

1. Stuffed mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms, cooked

Utensils

• Oven
• Mixing bowl
• Chopping board / knife
• Spoon
• Metal tray to go into the oven
• (Blender – if you want to make your own breadcrumbs)

Ingredients

• One or more large flat mushrooms, washed or peeled as you prefer (hang onto the stalk)
• A bowl of things you’d like to stuff it with, quite finely chopped (so that it packs into the mushroom), such as
  • Garlic clove or two
  • Olives – I like the pitted black olives from Cypressa, tasty and come in small jars
  • Breadcrumbs – I used ready made crisp breadcrumbs though I think fresh breadcrumbs from some slices of bread and a blender would be even nicer. They will crisp up in the oven anyway.
  • Coriander leaf – or a leaf that you like if you don’t like that
  • Mozzarella cheese – I used a pack of the slightly yellower stuff that looks like it’s going to melt, as opposed to the whiter version I use in unmelted salads.
  • Sun-dried tomatoes (I didn’t use in this batch)
  • The bits of mushroom (stalk and gills) from the preparation
  • Slice of ham – I had a bit left over (leave out for vegetarians!)
  • Some oil (tablespoon) to hold it together
  • (Bread – if you want to make your own breadcrumbs)

Preparation method

• Oven on at 180˚C or Gas Mark 4
• Up to you if you peel the skin of the mushroom(s) but if not give it a good wash.
• Remove and keep (‘reserve’ in cooking lingo) the stalk.
• With a spoon scrape out the black gills and add to the bowl
• Mix the ingredients together well
• Use your hand (probably packs in better) or spoon (hand doesn’t get dirty) to ‘load’ the mushrooms with as much of the stuffing mix so that you get a nice domed effect. Bits will start to fall off once you’ve reached the tipping point.
• Mushrooms on the tray, in the oven for 12-15 mins. Mine’s a gas oven so probably a good idea for me to rotate the tray round after 8 mins or so as the browning effect of the heat is rather directional.

2. Omelette with the leftovers

Two-egg omelette in pan with a chaotic mess of mushroom stuffing and stuffed mushrooms on top. There is no cous-cous here, it’s just breadcrumbs honest.

I made four mushrooms but found that two were sufficiently filling (which surprised me). I also had a bit of leftover uncooked mix (it doesn’t need to be cooked but the mozzarella doesn’t melt without it).

I turned this into a sort of omelette. No doubt purists will be horrified. Was delicious and filling.

Utensils

• Jug or similar if you want to whisk the eggs to mix
• Fork or whisk to do that
• Frying pan or omelette pan or any flattish pan

Ingredients

• Eggs (2-3 depending on how hungry / how big your pan is)
• Bit of oil
• Any leftover uncooked mixture plus the leftover cooked stuffed mushrooms, chopped up and mixed in with that.

Preparation method

• Put the frying pan on a low-medium heat and add a bit of oil
• After it’s warmed up a bit add the whisked eggs, adjust the heat so it starts to cook the egg
• Pour on top some of the mixture while the egg is still runny
• Leave it to cook on a low-medium heat so that it heats all the way through (and any uncooked mozzarella can melt a bit) but not so hot that you overcook the bottom.
• Slide it onto a plate, enjoy!

Omelette on the plate plus a few spare olives. I shouldn’t have used the flash when photographing this!

Ham sandwich: I could do with some lunchtime suggestions

So… new year – it’s time for Operation Sandwich.

I find preparing food (for cooking, for lunch next day) fairly depressing. I seem to get worse at it and need to have a written plan (really!) to remind me what it is that I’m doing. Also the kitchen looks like chaos afterwards 😉

Here’s what I’m having for lunch tomorrow – it’s not actually that healthy but it’s probably got a tiny bit less salt than something I buy from the shops. Although not much, because I bet ciabatta bread is quite salty.

Lunch

• 2 ciabatta rolls, or half a ‘baguette’ cut in half again
• Hoummous, however it’s spelled
• Ham
• Rocket – I usually attack this with a pair of scissors as I once had an unnerving experience nearly choking on some. The leaves can be a bit long and I would hate to die in an embarrassing middle-class accident from choking on snooty lettuce.

Ciabatta cut in half, spread with the hoummous, shredded rocket scattered atop the hoummous and the ham layered on top. Both sides firmly pressed together and stowed in a sandwich bag with air removed and tied – this bit is important as both sides participating in these sandwiches are like polar similars in that they seem to try and repel themselves as soon as the sandwich is closed. I have experienced disappointing versions of this sandwich when I’ve not taken this precaution. Take note.

Other sundry items include chopped carrots (batons) and more hoummous, apple, clementine and yoghourt. Not in the sandwich I mean, just taken to work with it.

I could do better here but at least it’s got some green in it. Feel free to suggest your sandwich options.