Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

The summer solstice arrived Friday. The longest day. I sat on the back porch with the dog and a glass of beer and watched the sky go through its slow blue-into-violet transformation, the way I have watched it from this porch for sixty-six years. The first squash blossoms appeared on the zucchini plants this week — the large yellow trumpets that I have been picking and frying in tempura batter for twenty years.

Made the squash blossoms Sunday — picked in the morning before they closed, dipped in the light tempura, fried in hot oil for ninety seconds, eaten at the kitchen counter standing up with a glass of cold white wine. There are dishes you eat at the table and there are dishes you eat at the counter, and the squash blossom is a counter dish.

Tom called Sunday night to report on the roast chicken. He had made it Saturday for himself and Linda. The chicken had come out well. He had not removed the giblets. Linda had laughed at him about it for an hour, which he reported as the first hour of laughter she had had in two weeks. I told him: that is the giblet bag's most important function. We laughed too. The call ran twenty minutes. He thanked me for the recipe.

The squash blossoms last only a few weeks, and I am always a little bereft when they are done — not because the summer is over, but because that particular pleasure, that particular ritual of picking and frying and eating at the counter, has to go back into waiting. So I keep a second counter dish in the rotation, one I can make in any season and that carries the same quality of immediacy, the same sense that you made it and you should eat it now, standing right where you are. The stuffed mushroom is that dish. I gave Tom the roast chicken; if he calls again in August I may give him this one.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6 (about 18 mushrooms)

Ingredients

18 large cremini or white button mushrooms, stems removed and reserved
8 oz mild Italian sausage, casings removed
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely diced
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it with olive oil.
Prepare the mushrooms. Wipe the mushroom caps clean with a damp paper towel. Finely chop the reserved stems. Brush the outside of each cap lightly with olive oil and arrange them cavity-side up on the prepared baking sheet.
Cook the sausage. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the Italian sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and pour off all but about 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.
Soften the aromatics. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the diced onion and chopped mushroom stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine the cooked sausage, onion and mushroom stem mixture, cream cheese, Parmesan, mozzarella, parsley, oregano, and red pepper flakes if using. Stir until fully incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Fill the caps. Spoon the filling generously into each mushroom cap, mounding it slightly above the rim. Finish each with a pinch of additional Parmesan.
Bake. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is golden and bubbling at the edges. Let rest 3 to 4 minutes before serving — they hold heat well.

Nutrition (per serving)

Italian Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms — The Counter Dish, the Garden, and Sixty-Six Summers