Stuffed Mushrooms in a Zucchini Nest

Thursday April 28

Holt had bought ten large stuffin' mushrooms, and then Barbara had a Vision: what if we had the stuffed mushrooms as eggs in a zucchini "pasta" nest? This was the result.

Clean mushrooms, remove stems and mince, also mince half an onion fine.

Sauté mushroom and onion bits in oil and butter; drizzle mushroom caps with oil and put sprigs of fresh thyme in them, bake in oven at 375 for 10 mins.

In the meantime, grind up 2 slices of Holt's tsoureki (or other good bread) in the robot-coupe. Meld 4 oz. goat cheese, ca. 2 oz. grated parmesan, a handful of toasted pine nuts, 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, and (eventually) the fried mushrooms and onions in a bowl. Add breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper. Make 10 small balls out of this cheezy stuff.

When mushrooms have baked 10 minutes, put one ball of cheese mixture into each, bake 10 more minutes. When the mushrooms look tender, put the pan under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until browned.

In the meantime, run a big zucchini through the square-pasta making blade of the Benriner. Salt and let the green ribbons drain, as here.

To serve, use zucchini pasta around edges of warm plate as "nest," nestle mushrooms in center. Prettier than a pretty thing, and tasty to boot!