Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen · 1 Comment

Baked mushrooms stuffed with herbs, feta and parmesan

It’s the season of mushrooms. the markets are full of wild mushrooms, and risottos and omelets are at the order of the day. But this recipe simply calls for “champignon de Paris”, the classic brown or white mushroom available all year long. A good stuffing with garlic and herbs and you have a flavourful little appetizer or starter, and even a side dish if you use the bigger portobello mushroom. these baked mushrooms will definitey hold its own amongst the more sought after wild mushrooms. Next time we’ll have a risotto with forest mushrooms.

Recipe:

  • About 20 medium mushrooms.
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and cushed
  • Fresh herbs of your choice, I used chives, marjoram and thyme.
  • 80g butter at room temperature
  • 100g dried bread crumbs
  • 100g grated parmesan cheese
  • 50 g feta
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C.
  2. Clean the mushrooms with kitchen towel(don’t wash) and remove the stems.
  3. Place round side down in an oven pan.
  4. Chop the herbs.
  5. Add the crushed garlic, the soft butter, the breadcrumbs, grated parmesan and a little olive oil (20ml) to the herbs and mix to a paste.
  6. Crumble a little feta cheese into each mushroom cavity and fill up with the herb mixture.
  7. Season with salt and papper and drizzle with olive oil.
  8. Bake for about 10 minutes until the mushrooms and the tops are deeply caramelized.
  9. Serve warm.

Serves 4

Preparation…

Pinch of salt:

  • Use bigger portobello or large mushrooms instead of small mushrooms for a side dish to a meal.
  • Use parsley as the fresh herb
  • Add some thyme branches on top of the mushrooms for more flavour.
  • Add some finley chopped spring onion to the butter mix.
  • Can be made a few hours ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to serve your apero.
  • Serve each mushroom with a sprig of herb that you’ve used.
  • Pack the mushrooms close together in the oven pan, they shrink as they bake.
Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Piperade with homegrown sweet peppers

We still have sweet peppers in the potager and they are super sweet and colourful. This will probably be the last batch for this season. So I decided to make piperade which we love. I do it a bit different than the original way that comes from the southwest in France, particularly the Basque region. I make mine seperately in the oven and mix it all together at the last minute before serving. Its a bit less juicy and saucy and the flavors of all the ingredients harmonize without losing their individuality. We especially enjoy it on rustic toasted country bread for a lunch.

Piperade with homegrown peppers

Recipe:

  • 4 large pepper of different colours.
  • On large onion
  • A big handful of cherry tomatoes, or grape tomatoes, cut in half
  • 4 cloves of garlic, cleaned and lightly squashed
  • salt and pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Fresh thyme
  • Raspberry flavoured balsamic vinegar
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degr C.
  2. Wash the peppers and slice into chunks, or thin slices if you prefer. Add to an oven pan with fresh thyme and drizzle liberally with olive oil.
  3. Clean the onion and cut into medium chunks. Add to another oven pan .
  4. Wash the cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes and slice in half. Add the tomatoes to the onion and add the cleaned and squashed garlic cloves.
  5. Roast the vegetables in the oven pans until tender and slithgly charred, for about 30 minutes. Take care not to burn the peppers. If youve sliced them thinly, they will roast quicker.
  6. Remove from the oven, mix the vegetables together, drizzle with more olive oil, season with salt and pepper and drizzle finally with some raspberry flavouredbalsamic vinegar.
  7. Serve warm or at room temperature with crusty bread or as a side with meat or fish.

Serves about 4 people as side dish

A pinch of salt:

  • Enjoy with slices of toasted whole wheat bread.
  • Serve as a side with fish or chicken.
  • Add tarragon instead of thyme if you serve it with chicken.
  • A full vegetarian meal.
  • For a meat version, add grilled sliced chorizo before serving.
  • If you slice the peppers into thin slices, they will roast quicker, about 20 minutes.
  • Add some piment d’espelette chilli peppers if you’d like it spicy.