Mushroom-Stuffed Mushrooms + Other Vegetarian Game Day Recipes

Oh, wow...football. Well, at least we find the food part fun. This Sunday's "big game" is a great opportunity to try out some new things. Try swapping some meat-heavy dishes for vegetable-focused ones to lighten up your spread and give your guests some different options. 

We love to serve Better Jalapeño Poppers, Smoked Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Pecans, Hoppin' John Bean Butter, Super-Easy Vegetarian Mexican Pizza, BBQ Eggplant Sliders with Caesar Cole Slaw, or our new Mushroom-Stuffed Mushrooms (recipe follows) and Charred Carrot Hot Dogs from our recent Memphis Flyer article, "Dog Bowl: Vegging out at the Super Bowl."

Mushroom-Stuffed Mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)

1/4 cup finely chopped shallot

3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

8 ounces portobello or other mushrooms (finely chopped)

1 cup finely chopped celery (about 2 ribs)

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot (1 medium)

1 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/8 teaspoon clove

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon soy sauce (like Bragg’s)

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon spicy mustard (like Zatarain’s)

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper (to taste)

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats 

12 to 15 large crimini or button mushroom caps

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or vegan shreds)

1/4 cup sliced green onions

Use your food processor to make short work of all of the chopping.  Just roughly chop shallot, garlic, mushrooms, celery, and carrots, and process them in batches by pulsing the blade until finely chopped. 

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large 12-inch frying pan over high heat. Add the chopped shallot, garlic, mushrooms, celery, and carrot to the pan. Stir consistently and sauté until all of the liquid has released and then evaporated; this should take about 5 minutes. Add the sage, red pepper flakes, clove, nutmeg, soy sauce, and maple syrup to the pan. Stir to incorporate and remove from heat. Add the uncooked quick-cooking oats and stir the mixture until everything is well incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to allow the moisture to distribute.

Preheat your over to 350 degrees. Pull the stem out of each mushroom cap and save for another use. Place mushrooms gill-side-up in a large casserole dish. Drizzle the caps with the remaining olive oil, and season caps with a little salt and pepper. Using your hands mound as much filling into each cap as you can. Gently press it in so that it fills all of the air pockets. Repeat until all filling is used. 

Cover casserole dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top each with cheddar and bake another 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with sliced green onions and serve. These can be served warm or at room temperature.