garlic and herb stuffed mushrooms

this recipe is a veganized amalgam of my favorite bits of 5 or 6 different stuffed mushroom recipes. i’m choosing to completely forego measurements with these ingredients, because it varies so much according to what size mushrooms you use, how many, etc. like most of my favorite recipes, it’s all about approximation.

ingredients:

small mushrooms
bread crumbs
minced garlic
vegetable broth or water
olive oil
lemon juice
onion powder
garlic powder
rosemary
italian seasoning
salt and pepper

preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees.

twist the mushroom stems out of their caps. wash everything thoroughly, but try not to get the undersides of the caps wet. set caps aside, trim the tough bottoms off of the stems and discard. mince stems.

in a bowl, combine minced stems, fine bread crumbs, minced garlic, and seasonings. i like to smoosh up the rosemary into smaller pieces, and use a lot of it--rosemary is the most excellent seasoning in this recipe and its flavor should stand out.

add just a bit of olive oil and lemon juice to the mixture. stir with a fork until everything is just barely moist. add some vegetable broth or water--enough to make the mix stick together. it shouldn’t be wet, but you should be able to mush it into a cohesive ball.

line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with a substantial amount of olive oil. i use my hand to spread the oil across the foil, then with the remaining oil that soils my hand i rub the outsides of the mushroom caps and set them down on the sheet, gills-up.

scoop the stuffing mixture into the undersides of the mushroom caps; pack it in gently to fill the cavity without breaking the cap. let the caps overflow with stuffingy goodness. if you’re left with too much stuffing, as is usually the case, just spoon it out onto the baking sheet in a thin layer and bake it next to the mushrooms as a dressing.

bake for about 10 minutes, then scoot the mushrooms around with a fork (so they don’t get stuck) and stir the dressing so it cooks evenly. bake another 5-10 minutes, or longer if you’re using large-ish mushrooms. i like to wait until the sides of the caps get just a little bit wrinkly and the stuffing is nicely browned.