A stuffed mushrooms recipe can serve dual purpose as either a starter or pre-dinner nibbles or hors d'oeuvre. Or you could use large mushrooms and create yourself a substantial TV supper dish.
Let's start by making some nibbles from fresh mushrooms, with a choice of fillings.
These quantities will stuff approximately 20 to 25 mushrooms.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely.
Mix all the ingredients for the filling, including the mushroom stems and divide between the mushroom caps. Each mushroom will have a mound of filling on it.
Garnish the top with a sprinkle of paprika. Easy!
Mix the chicken with the other ingredients and stuff the raw mushrooms as before.
Using a small, sharp knife trim the mushroom stems close to the caps. Chop the stems finely.
Turn the grill on to heat up.
Heat a frying pan (skillet) and pop in half the butter. Once it has melted, toss in the mushrooms stems, onion and, if you are using it, garlic. Cook gently until soft.
Stir in the ham, nutmeg and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and pop into a bowl.
In the pan, melt the remaining butter and then brush it over the skin side of the mushrooms. Grill (broil) them, skin side up, under the hot grill for 2 minutes. Turn them over and fill with the stuffing. Return to the grill until the stuffing is heated through.
Serve on hot buttered toast, and sprinkle with a little chopped parsley if desired. Serve immediately
Heat the butter in a frying pan (skillet) and cook the chopped stems and onion very gently for about 5 minutes until they are soft but not coloured.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the rest of the filling ingredients, seasoning well with salt and pepper.
Fill the mushrooms with the mixture and place them in a greased baking dish. Bake at Gas mark 6 (200 degrees C or 400 degrees F) for about 15 minutes. They should be hot and bubbly when you serve them.