cranberry cheesecake bars (which are delicious btw), here is a tray of stuffed mushrooms which would make a delicious appetiser or side for the upcoming festivities.

These stuffed mushrooms are little flavour bombs and they are incredibly easy to make too. I already have a recipe for vegan stuffed mushrooms on the blog, which many people love, but this one is a bit different and dare I say easier to make so I thought I would offer it up as an alternative.

These stuffed mushrooms require minimal prep. You need to clean your mushrooms of course, but given that they are typically grown in horse manure you would be mad not to. Once you clean the mushrooms, brush them with a bit of olive oil, season and let the oven do the rest of the work.

While the mushrooms are roasting, roast an entire hand of garlic at the same time to add mellow garlic flavour the filling. Once the garlic is done, squeeze a few cloves into a blender, add the rest of the filling ingredients and blend until silky smooth. Taste and tweak the seasoning, of course, but once that’s done fill the pre-baked mushrooms with this creamy and ever so slightly cheesy filling, top with some breadcrumbs and thyme and bake for a bit more. That’s it, the only thing to do is to serve and watch these stuffed mushrooms being devoured with pleasure. Hope you’ll give them a go.

MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS

MUSHROOMS: Stuffed mushrooms would not happen without mushrooms:) I recommend picking medium size cap mushrooms but it doesn’t matter that much. If your mushrooms are super big or very tiny, you will simply need to either extend or shorten the baking time a little. I went for brown chestnut mushrooms, which I believe are called cremini or baby bella in the US.

CASHEWS: The creaminess of the filling relies on cashews although you can also use hulled sunflower seeds for this dish. You want to use raw cashews and soak them in boiling water for at least 20 minutes first or in cold water for several hours (overnight, for example). The soaking softens the cashews considerably and makes it easier for your blender to blend them until very smooth.

LEMON: I like to add a squeeze of lemon juice to the filling to balance things out. It is also nice to sprinkle the tops with a little lemon zest after baking.

GARLIC: While you can add a raw garlic clove (or more if you are a massive garlic fiend) to the filling, I like to bake a head of garlic in the oven while I pre-roast the mushrooms and add a few cloves of roasted garlic to the filling instead. Roasted garlic contributes a lovely mellow garlic flavour to the dish.

BREADCRUMBS: As both the filling and the mushrooms are soft (with the mushrooms being chewier for sure), I wanted to add another texture to this simple side dish so I sprinkled the tops with breadcrumbs. I should have been more generous in hindsight but I wanted for you to be able to see the filling in photos. I used shop-bought garlic and herb breadcrumbs which are already coated in oil to help them brown and get crunchy. If using homemade breadcrumbs, use coarser breadcrumbs and toss them in a bit of oil – just to moisten – and season lightly before using.

OLIVE OIL: I use olive oil to prepare the mushrooms for roasting and add a tablespoon of it to the filling for nicer texture. Either extra virgin or cooking olive oil works.

NUTRITIONAL YEAST: Nutritional yeast is a type of inactive yeast that adds delicious cheesy flavour to vegan dishes. There is no substitute, I am afraid, but it’s easy to find these days and has a lot of uses. Try it.

MISO: I added a teaspoon of miso to deepen the flavour of the filling without making it turn an unappetising colour. If the colour of the filling doesn’t matter to you as much, you can add a bit of more but be sure to use less salt as miso is salty. I went for red miso as that’s what I had in my fridge, but both red and white miso will work beautifully.

THYME: Thyme and mushrooms are such a great flavour combination. I used fresh thyme and that’s what I recommend.

HOW TO MAKE IT?

1) PREP & BAKE MUSHROOMS and GARLIC

I recommend picking medium sized mushrooms for this dish although any size will work – the baking time may need to be extended or shortened in extreme cases. Clean your mushrooms well using a dedicated mushroom brush and a tiny but of water or a damp paper towel. Once clean, cut the stem out and save it for another dish. Lightly oil the mushrooms, both of the inside and on the outside and season with salt and pepper. You may also want to sprinkle the insides with some fresh thyme leaves. Arrange the mushrooms on a tray – gills up – and bake for about 20 minutes.

While baking the mushrooms, prepare a head (or more) of garlic for roasting and add it to the oven. Roast until the exposed cloves are sticky and translucent (about 30 minutes)

2) MAKE THE FILLING

The filling is super easy. You simply want to put everything in a blender and blend until super smooth. Add about a half (although you may want more, adjust to suit your palate) of the roasted garlic cloves and season to taste. I used about three quarters of flaky salt, but make sure you taste and check for yourself.

3) FILL THE MUSHROOMS

Once the mushrooms are partially baked, take them out of the oven and fill with a generous amount of cashew cream. Then sprinkle with breadcrumbs and herbs if you like.

4) BAKE

Finally bake the mushrooms for about 15 minutes. Allow them to cool a little before serving, they are lovely both warm and at room temperature. You may want to garnish them with a sprinkling of lemon zest and more thyme leaves.