Blogfinger Photo. Ocean Grove, New Jersey
By Eileen Goldfinger, Food editor @Blogfinger
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2 large Portobello mushrooms
3 Campari tomatoes
5 mozzarella balls (size of half a golf ball), halved
basil paste (produce dept. of Wegmans) or substitute pesto
1 teaspoon shallot thyme finishing butter (dairy dept. of Wegmans)
extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
pinch of salt, per mushroom
4 turns of a pepper mill, per mushroom
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Remove the stem from each mushroom. Wipe the top of each mushroom with a paper towel. Rub each one with extra virgin olive oil, and pour a teaspoon of the oil on the inside of each mushroom.
Place the mushrooms, top side down, on the baking sheet. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of butter thyme to the inside of each mushroom.
Remove the two ends of each of the tomatoes and slice the tomatoes so that you end up with 10 slices. Place the slices inside the mushroom with one slice in the center and the other slices surrounding it.
Add pinch of salt and 4 turns of the pepper mill to each mushroom.
Add 1/8 teaspoon of basil paste on top of each slice of tomato.
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on each mushroom.
Place each half of mozzarella ball on top of each tomato slice.
Bake at 450 degrees in oven for 30 minutes or until the mozzarella has melted and the tomatoes have softened.
Serves 2
As a side dish I served half an avocado per mushroom.
Squeeze the juice from a quarter of a lime on each half of the avocado.
Mix a tablespoon of mayonnaise with 1/2 teaspoon of white horseradish (find it in a jar in the refrigerated department) and place the mixture in the center of the avocado where the pit used to be.
LOUIS PRIMA. “Buono Sera:”