Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Oh man were these good! I was asked to make stuffed mushrooms for a little gathering and I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make Hot Italian Sausage or Crab. So I made both! I will add the Hot Italian Sausage mushrooms in the next post. For the crab mushrooms, I used delicately flavored white mushrooms for the crab stuffing so the flavors would be the star rather than the mushrooms. I winged this recipe, shooting for a light, fresh, delicate flavor and if I do say so myself, these were delicious! I wrote down what I used, but of course, can’t find my paper so, hopefully, I will recall all of the ingredients I used. I made 24 and had a bit of stuffing left over, so this is a guide. As always, adjust to your taste.

INGREDIENTS

24-30 medium/large White Mushrooms

1 lb. lump crabmeat

3/4 package softened Neufchatel Cheese

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large shallot, minced

2/3-1 c. panko

zest of 1 1/2 -2 lemons, divided

juice of 2 lemons

1/2 stick of butter, melted and divided

3 T. parsley, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 375. Clean and de-stem mushrooms. ( I did not use the stems in this mixture) Lightly brush mushroom caps with melted butter and place on cookie sheet with Pam or a Silpat silicone sheet. In a large saute pan, over medium low heat, add half of the butter, minced garlic and shallots. Cook until lightly caramelized. Add the cheese, mixing until pretty liquified. Add the crabmeat, gently mixing not to break up the large chunks of crab too much. Remove from heat, add the remaining ingredients reserving 1/2 of the lemon zest, and about 3T of melted butter. Mix gently.

Fill mushroom caps with crab mixture. Sprinkle remaining butter over filled mushrooms. Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown. Remove from oven, sprinkle remaining lemon zest over the top and serve.