STUFFED MUSHROOM CAPS WITH BRANDY, PINE NUTS AND PORK (Spanish champinones rellenos, for four)
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¾ pound medium-size mushrooms
lemon juice
5 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ pound lean ground pork
salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
½ teaspoon brandy, preferably Spanish, or Cognac
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted
- Separate the mushroom stems and chop finely, reserving 1/3 cup for this recipe and the rest for future use. Sprinkle the caps with lemon juice.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet and sauté the onion and garlic slowly until the onion is wilted. Add the meat and cook, sprinkling with salt and pepper, until it loses its color. Add the chopped stems and cook 3 minutes more. Turn off the heat. Stir in the bread crumbs, brandy, parsley, pine nuts and more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Pile this mixture into the mushroom caps and dot with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake in a preheated 400* oven for 20 minutes, and serve immediately.
adapted from Penelope Casas, The Foods and Wines of Spain