roasted brown mushrooms stuffed with italian sausage

Ok so this blog post is really a concept recipe and one I was inspired to try when I bought stunning Italian sausages from Ryan Boon at his new retail shop in the Warenmarkt in Stellenbosch. The sausages have all the typical Italian flavours like fennel, chilli, black pepper and garlic, you don’t need much else. I had thought of turning these roasted mushrooms into an umami-sausage-fest-burger, but in the end they were quite delicious eaten as is with a lightly dressed salad of watercress.

I adore roasted black mushrooms with chèvre (goats cheese) so that is definitely the way to roll if you are looking for a vegetarian vibe, or do both. I think a good pork banger  roasted in these mushrooms would be stunning added to a breakfast or brunch spread. The fatty flavour from the sausage cooks into the juicy mushrooms creating a lovely jus. I also tried a few popped onto a puff pastry croute to add decadence and texture. Kind of like a flattened mushroom sausage roll. Maybe next time I’ll make a pie. I will certainly like to make meatballs out of these sausages and serve in a rich tomato sauce with pasta. Otherwise add them to a bolognese to intensify the flavours.

Recipe

Pre heat the oven to 180C. Clean as many large brown mushrooms as you require. I prefer not to wet these and rather wipe them with a damp cloth to remove any dirt. I found that two largish sausages were enough to stuff six medium mushrooms. Remember they do shrink quite a lot during cooking. Brush the inside and the outside of the mushrooms lightly with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and then fill the inside cavity with the sausage meat. Place filled side up and bake for 25 minutes until cooked through.

Serve on a toasted brioche bun with salad things to make a delicious burger, or with a salad on the side if you are keeping things low in carb.