I’m starting to love Maggiano’s, despite my best intentions, and this recipe for Maggiano’s stuffed mushrooms lets me recreate one of my favorite appetizers of all time! While not a huge fan of raw mushrooms, when they are stuffed with spinach, garlic and cheese, then baked with olive oil I can’t help but love them!

Ingredients

1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic (finely minced)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp fresh basil (chopped)
1 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
paprika
12 mushrooms
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 oz extra virgin olive oil
6 cups fresh spinach
1/2 lb unsalted butter (softened)
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

Directions

1. Remove stems from the mushrooms and place in a large mixing bowl. Coat with 1 oz of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Place on a baking tray with gills up and roast in oven for 15 minutes. Remove and allow to slightly cool then turn over onto a paper towel to allow the juices to drain.

2. In a saute pan add 1 oz of olive oil and fresh minced garlic. With medium heat allow for garlic to slightly brown, then add fresh spinach and salt and pepper to taste. Stir spinach until it reduces in volume, then remove from heat, drain and cool. Lay spinach out on cutting board and lightly chop.

3. In a large mixing bowl add half pound of softened butter, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, basil, parsley and the bread crumbs. Mix by hand and form into mushroom-sized circles.

4. Using a separate mixing bowl, add in cooked spinach and fontina cheese, then mix together. Fill each mushroom cap with 1 to 2 oz of the spinach/fontina mixture, then top with the butter/crumb mixture, and sprinkle with paprika .

5. Bake in oven at 350 until golden brown.

6. Garnish with fresh lemon.