Stuffed Mushrooms with Goat Cheese

Like Holler over at Tinned Tomatoes, I adore mushrooms. I could eat them almost everyday; they are so versatile, they are good at any time of the day in combination with a variety of foods. I was looking to fill out a meal of leftovers, and so decided to prepare some stuffed mushrooms with goat cheese. As I am also fond of spicy food, I added some cayenne pepper and chopped fresh chillies to the stuffing.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Goat Cheese and Cornmeal

10 - 12 large mushrooms
1 tablespoon of butter or oil
1 medium sized clove of garlic, finely minced
2 green chillies, finely minced
1 shallot, finely minced
4 - 6 oz of goat cheese
1/2 cup of cornmeal
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon of cracked black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Grease a large 9" X 13" pan or baking sheet. Wash the mushrooms with a damp cloth and carefully scoop out the stems. Finely chop the mushroom stems.

Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When hot, fry the garlic, shallot, mushrooms stems and chillies until the water has evaporated - about 7 minutes. Transfer to a medium sized bowl and let cool for a few minutes.

Mix in the goats cheese. I worked it in with my hands rather than using a spoon. Then add the Parmesan, cornmeal, pepper and cayenne pepper and stir well to combine. Using a small spoon, fill each mushroom cap with the stuffing. Transfer filled mushrooms to the baking pan and cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. You can also put the mushrooms under the broiler for a few minutes at the end of the cooking time to brown the tops a bit.