Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are mushroom caps filled with feta and herbs and baked until the cheese colours. In Greece they belong to the meze table, alongside the many other things the kitchen fills and puts in the oven.

What it really is

The cap is the vessel. Stems are twisted out and usually chopped back into the filling, the hollow is brushed with olive oil, and the cheese goes in. Feta does most of the work: it is salty enough to season the whole bite, and it softens rather than melts, so the filling keeps its shape. Garlic, spring onion, parsley and oregano go in with it, and breadcrumbs are added when the mixture is too wet.

Fifteen to twenty minutes in a hot oven is the whole of the cooking. The mushrooms give up water, the tops take colour, and the caps stay firm enough to pick up. Longer, and they collapse into the tray.

How it is served

• Warm rather than hot, in a small dish, as meze or a starter.
• With lemon squeezed over and bread to catch the oil.
• Several to a portion — this is finger food, not a plated course.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the cheese: feta reads differently from a mild white cheese, and it sets the salt level.
• Mention the breadcrumbs — they are the wheat in an otherwise gluten-free dish.
• Vegetarian as standard, and worth labelling as such.

The ingredients, allergens and dietary notes listed here describe a typical recipe. They are not a binding declaration for any particular restaurant: recipes, portion sizes and the products used can differ.