… oh I do love a lazy long weekend. It’s like a special treat isn’t it? That extra day to play with means that you don’t have to feel guilty doing nothing on one of the days and you still have a full weekend to do the regular weekend stuff… and of course for me it means an extra day in the kitchen without the stress. I’ve been lavishing my weekends recently as work has been particularly stressful. As you all know I do love my non-blogging work life but like anything you’re passionate about it can become deeply stressful so the down times really count and of course usually the weekends aren’t long enough. As it happens i’ve woken up this bank-holiday weekend and The Viking, god bless him, is under the weather so we’ve had the fire on and been wrapped in blankets. I shouldn’t say this so gleefully really but he’s such a dynamo that sometimes it’s nice to have him slow down a little. It means I can catch my breath too and don’t feel quite so guilt that every meal needs to be photographed first before it’s ready for him to eat… oh the trials and tribulations of a food blogger eh?
wild garlic cheddar pesto baked mushrooms
baked mushrooms or ‘mushroom pizzas’ as I like to call them are a great low-carb alternative to regular pizza. You get all the wonderful melty cheesiness of a pizza but you’re using the large field mushroom as a base. It’s such a simple idea and you can get as creative as you like, layering alkyds of toppings from the classic tomato sauce all the way through to this fabulous wild garlic pesto. There’s so much wild garlic about this year. A few years ago we found a hidden little valley not 3 miles from the cottage, filled from wall to wall with the glorious ransom plant… the aroma alone gave the place away and with one small lane running through it all we had to do was pull over, open the door, lean out and start harvesting… i picked enough for these mushrooms and have also cleaned and wrapped some leaves in clingfilm for freezing… I think i have an idea about pea and wild garlic soup but I haven’t quite formulated the recipe yet…
for the wild garlic cheddar pesto
a large handful (roughly 200g) of fresh wild garlic leaves – washed well
100g very strong cheddar – roughly grated
150g pine nuts
olive oil
for the baked mushrooms
8 large field mushrooms
1 ripe tomato – finely sliced
fresh oregano
a drizzle of balsamic vinegar
mozzarella
pre-heat the oven to 160C
lay the mushrooms in an oven-proof dish, drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with a little oregano and season well with salt and pepper, then place in a gentle oven for 10 mins until the mushrooms begin to soften and collapse a little
meanwhile, place the wild garlic leaves, cheddar and pine nuts into a blender or nutribullet type whizzer and blitz to a pulp… as you whizz it up, pour in plenty of olive oil… there are no real measurements here, you want a nice chunky paste
remove the mushrooms from the oven and set aside whilst you slice your tomatoes, then lay these onto the mushrooms – you may have to jigsaw pieces a little, drizzle each with a little balsamic then add one or two pieces of torn mozzarella followed by a good slathering of wild garlic pesto
place the dish back in the oven and bake again for 20 minutes or until the topping begins to turn golden brown
eat and of course enjoy!
Sue/the view from great island says
Dom these look AMAZING! I could eat stuffed mushrooms all day long!
Elinor Hill says
Delicious. Want it now!
bellini says
I was at the farmers market the other day and our local forager had some local watercress. I don't know that ramps or even wild garlic grow here, but I would love to savour these delicious bites.
Manu says
Pesto is so delicious and this recipe is easy and beautiful too.
xox
Karen S Booth says
I hope that the Viking is much better now Dom, send him my love and wow to this amazing recipe too – it's fabulous and looks just what the doctor ordered!
Janice Pattie says
definitely droolworthy, lovely idea for wild garlic.
helen says
oh my, these look amazing! I've only recently discovered the delights of wild garlic & love it!
Choclette Blogger says
Dom, I've just eaten and you've made me hungry all over again! Just fabulous. I haven't picked any wild garlic this year.
There is tons of it growing around the lanes here, but there are too many diesel fuelled vehicles roaring around the place for me to want to eat any of it 🙁
Ben Maclain @havocinthekitchen says
There is nothing better than having a day off at home – cooking, photographing, etc. Even though weather is just perfect now, I still prefer to occasionally stay home. There is an option though – to cook and take pictures outside!:) These mushrooms look super scrumptious – I love stuff and bake them, but I've never used pesto sauce. Sounds good to me!
Kate Glutenfreealchemist says
I love the chew as well as the flavour of stuffed baked mushrooms and they pair so well with cheese and garlic. Love the addition of pine nuts….. I'd put pine nuts in everything given half a chance!