Mushrooms stuffed with mascarpone, ricotta, pine nuts and herbs

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 10 mushrooms
• 1 red bell pepper(s)
• 150 g ricotta
• 125 g mascarpone
• ½ bunch basil, or more
• ½ bunch parsley
• 2 egg yolks
• 35 g pine nuts
• 4 garlic cloves, squeezed
• 120 g Parmesan
• Pepper, freshly ground
• Salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Vegetarian starter, side dish, or snack. Delicious hot or cold.

Wash and dry the mushrooms. Remove the stems and inner parts to create a nice filling crater, then finely dice/chop them. Wash and peel the bell peppers and finely dice them. Finely chop/chop the basil and parsley. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a little olive oil until they are nicely browned. Let the nuts cool, chopping them occasionally (if you have time). Add a little olive oil to the pan. Add the bell peppers and mushroom stems and fry briefly. Season with salt and pepper. Then add the chopped herbs and garlic and simmer for 5-6 minutes at low heat. Transfer the mixture to a bowl or plate and let it cool (I usually put the mixture in the refrigerator, or worse, in the freezer to speed things up). The mixture doesn’t need to be refrigerated for the next step. Preheat oven to 180°C (fan). Grate the Parmesan cheese and mix it with the egg yolk. Add the mascarpone and ricotta to the egg yolk and Parmesan mixture and mix thoroughly. Then add the herb and mushroom mixture and the chopped pine nuts and mix again. Finally, season to taste with salt and pepper. Despite the Parmesan, the mixture can still use a little more salt (sometimes a little more). Place the mushrooms in a greased dish or on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) and fill with the mixture. It’s okay if it forms a small mound. Then bake on the middle rack for about 20-25 minutes. When the mixture is nicely browned, the mushrooms are done. In my opinion, this dish tastes best served lukewarm, although colder is better than too hot. It’s delicious as a vegetarian starter, side dish, or simply as a snack.