Baked Eggs In Stuffed Portabello Mushroom Caps. On a recent outing to our local farmer's market, I stopped to check out a stand that sold fresh mushrooms... mushrooms that were freshly picked from a local farm just a few miles away. Interestingly enough I've always walked past their stand many times before. I suppose it was probably due to the fact that the merchant was only selling 2 types of mushrooms. Nothing unique. And since they don't sell a variety of produce, folks have the tendency to walk by and not gather around as they do for other produce stands. This time around though, I sort of lingered and watched from a distance the activity that unfolded around this mushroom stand....
I spotted a thin, white haired gentleman standing at his booth, arranging and rearranging his wares. From time to time, he'd glance up to see if there were any customers. Every so often he would take a step back and sit down in his camp chair, and watch as most folks walked right by. After some time, I finally noticed a lady that went directly to the stand and stopped. She reached out and picked up a small container of beautiful white button mushrooms from the small table, gave them to the man, and then proceeded to take out her money to pay for them. The elderly man gently dumped the mushrooms in a brown paper bag then proceeded to give her the change. By now I had walked closer to his booth and noticed just how beautiful his mushrooms were. I don't know why I had skipped his booth on other days. Yes, they were your typical mushrooms, and nothing interesting had stood out. And they weren't any fancy mushrooms like morels.... just the typical portabello mushroom and the white button mushrooms. They were just too common... or so I thought.
I stopped in front of the mushroom stand and immediately spotted these beautiful medium-sized portabello mushrooms. These mushrooms weren't the super large ones you normally see in the supermarket, rather they were the type that fit nicely in the palm of your hand. He had quite a few of these mushrooms, so the price was decent enough... 2 beautiful portabello mushrooms for $1. But after picking up a mushroom, I instantly knew I'd make a purchase. The mushroom looked so clean and unblemished. Happy to see another customer, the mushroom man picked up a brown paper bag and waited on me. I picked up a couple of beautiful mushrooms and handed them over. He gently placed the mushrooms in the bag while I proceeded to take out my dollar bill. I paid him and thanked him for the mushrooms. Walking to my car, I carried my bag of mushrooms excitedly.... I was already planning my recipe.
I had seen a recipe for an egg stuffed mushroom some time ago and filed the idea away. I guess I liked the idea because it sort of mirrored the egg stuffed baked potato I posted some time ago, which happens to be a favorite. Exchanging the potato for a portabello mushroom would change things up a bit. And the dish would not only be low-carb and gluten-free, but it would also require less cooking time... making it an ideal breakfast dish, or even a quick and light lunch. As much as I liked the idea when I first stumbled up on it, I just never got the chance to make it... until recently. How I wish I hadn't waited so long! Yet, I was real glad I had stopped by the mushroom stand this time around. The mushrooms happened to be the tastiest mushrooms I have eaten in a long time... almost made me forget about the egg. Almost.
I decided to cook the dish quite simply so that the mushroom flavor would be in the forefront. And because I didn't want to toss out the stem, I decided to chop it up finely and saute it with a bit of onion and garlic. In retrospect, deciding to use the stem was great, because it brought a ton of flavor to the overall dish. Of course you can embellish the dish by adding some grated cheese, bacon/ham and any other favorite ingredient to the stuffing mixture, so feel free to be creative. I'm mostly posting this dish as an idea.
After making this dish I immediately thought of topping a baby bella mushroom(cremini) with a quail egg... thinking it would make a wonderful little appetizer! But where to find quail eggs here in MT? In any case, if you have the chance to buy some quail eggs and try it with baby bellas, I'd love to hear your feedback. Oh, and after I thought about the quail egg idea, another idea came to me... I could easily make this dish as a gluten-free "eggs benedict" style dish, by adding a slice of canadian ham on top of the mushroom cap, toping it with the egg, and then serving it with some hollandaise sauce. I know, probably rich, but it might be worth a try. The possibilities never end... Hope you enjoy...
Note: Depending on the size of your mushroom, you may need to adjust the size of eggs you will be using... you want the egg to be contained inside the mushroom cap as much as possible, some of the egg white may leak out. The flat portobello mushrooms aren't really ideal, unless they are bigger and can contain the egg inside.
Tip: If you like your mushroom to be cooked longer, you may want to opt to cook it in the oven for a few minutes before adding the egg, this way the egg won't overcook.
You will need: of course, you can double, triple, or make as many servings as you need.
2 medium portabello mushrooms
2 medium/large eggs
a sliver of onion( about 4 TBS diced)
1 really small clove garlic, minced
fresh chives, chopped
kosher salt/ pepper
olive oil, as needed
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
1. Line a cookie sheet/toaster oven pan with parchment paper.
2. Clean the portabello mushrooms well.... all dirt is removed.
3. Gently remove the stem and leave the gills intact.
4. Brush outer mushroom caps with a bit of olive oil. Lightly sprinkle the inside each mushroom cap with salt & freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Set aside.
5. Finely dice the mushroom stems, the sliver of onion(3-4 TBS worth of finely diced onion), and mince the small garlic clove.
6. Add a drizzle of olive oil to a hot skillet, along with the chopped mushroom stems, onion and garlic. Season with a bit of kosher salt/pepper.
7. Saute mushroom mixture on med/high heat for a few minutes until onion is soft and mushroom is golden brown.... the mixture should be dry. Remove from heat.
8. Divide mixture between mushrooms... and stuff mushroom caps by placing the stuffing more on the outer side of the cap.
9. Carefully crack an egg into each mushroom and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt.
10. Bake for 20 minutes(time in my toaster oven)... until the eggs are set according to personal taste.
11. Remove egg-topped stuffed mushrooms from the oven, and sprinkle with chopped chives... add a sprinkle of ground black pepper, if desired.
