One Side Stuffed Mushrooms

Ahhh… the mushroom stuffed with more mushroom’s destiny. Once, this mushroom grew quietly beneath the earth, dreaming only of rain and shade. Now it is hollowed… filled… transformed. The sausage inside, dense, savory, unapologetically not a mushroom, speaks of another path entirely. One of fire, seasoning, and ambition. Together, they are neither what they were, nor what they seem. Soft cap, rich center. Earth and indulgence entwined. Eat it, and you will feel comfort. Eat too many, and you may question who you were before the plate arrived. Which, of course, is the point.

Ingredients

12 baby cremini mushroom
1/2 lb ground pork
1 tbs Italian seasoning
2 tbs bacon fat
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 slices Italian bread
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (plus 1 tbs more)
1/4 cup parsley (plus 1 tbs more minced)
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Clean any dirt off your mushrooms. Remove the stems and set aside. Using a spoon, remove the gills of the mushroom. Place the clean mushrooms in an ovenproof baking dish.
In a mixing bowl, toss the ground pork with the salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
Cut or tear the bread into small pieces and put in a food processor to process down to bread crumbs and reserve 1/3 of the mixture to top the mushrooms. Add an equal amount of the mushroom stems to the remaining bread crumbs in the food processor with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, and 1/4 cup parsley and process the remaining ingredients to the size of the breadcrumbs while drizzling in 1 tbs of the bacon fat. Place breadcrumb mixture into the mixing bowl with the seasoned pork.
Gently toss the pork and breadcrumbs together for the mushroom filling.
Brush the remaining bacon fat inside the cleaned mushrooms in the baking pan and fill the mushrooms with 2-3 tbs of the sausage filling. Top the stuffed mushrooms with reserved bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Add the bayleaf and white wine to the bottom of the baking dish.
Cook mushrooms covered with foil for 10 minutes. Remove the foil after 10 minutes and bake and additional 15 minutes. If tops of mushrooms aren’t golden brown after the additional 15 minutes, broil the mushrooms an additional 1-2 minutes or until desired doneness.
Serve.