Mushrooms Stuffed With Bacon, Kale and Spinach

Ingredients

Mushrooms Stuffed With Bacon, Kale and Spinach
by Chef Patricia DeMauro

Preparation

1. Clean mushrooms with a lint free cloth or paper towel.
2. Clean mushrooms with paper towels and remove stems. Chop stems and set aside in a bowl. Scrape around each mushroom and remove rim to enlarge mushroom cap to fill with stuffing mixture. Set aside in bowl with chopped stems.
3. Wash 1 pound of kale and let dry.  Then chop into bite size pieces.  Chop 1 large sized onion, then set aside.  Dice 1 pound of bacon into bite sized pieces.
4. Heat skillet to 375°F and add 2 tablespoons of butter. Melt butter, then add bacon.  Simmer in skillet for 10 minutes while occasionally stirring to coat bacon and butter evenly.  Drain in a paper towel lined bowl and set aside.
5. Stir after you add each ingredient, to spread them out evenly over skillet.   Add 1/4 cup olive oil.  Add chopped onion, diced garlic cloves, chopped celery.  Let it sauté for a few minutes.  Add chopped mushroom stems, chopped kale and spinach.  Add 1 tablespoon each of salt, black pepper, cayenne, thyme and olive oil.  Add 1 cup unflavored breadcrumbs.  Stir well and cook for another 2 minutes.  Add bacon that was set aside.  Stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Grab a spoon and fill each mushroom with 2-3 teaspoons of the sauté mix. Gently pat the mixture into each cap. Place mushrooms in a casserole dish.
7. Preheat oven to 375°F. Once all 12 mushrooms are filled and in casserole dish, add a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese to all or some of the mushroom caps. Add 1 cup of vegetable broth.  Sprinkle a teaspoon on top of each mushroom cap, then pour the rest onto the bottom of the casserole dish.  Bake in 375°F oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven when mushrooms are soft and cheese melts and browns lightly.

Mangia!