Clam-Stuffed Mushrooms

By doran65

Over the last month of this column, we've delved into healthy, delicious, and relatively inexpensive passed appetizers, excellent for any time of year, but especially the holidays.

This week, just in time for the New Year, we're finishing off our exploration of hors d'oeuvres with an adaptation of Clam-Stuffed Mushrooms from All Recipes.

It's a pretty simple dish; you mix a few ingredients, cram them into a pre-baked mushroom, heat it up, and serve. No muss, no fuss. Well, actually, a little fuss: balancing the cheese on top of the stuffing required more coordination than of which I'm capable. Alas, that's more of a sad commentary on my dexterity than anything else.

The best part about this recipe is the addition of clam. Largely sustainable and virtually fat-free, it's an interesting twist on what can occasionally be a fairly staid recipe. Buying a more upscale brand will only help the flavor of your dish, as some find bargain-basement clams to be a little tough and perhaps even a tad tasteless.

And with that, have a healthy and happy New Year everyone. See you in 2011.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces large button mushrooms, stemmed
• 1 (6.5-ounce) can minced clams, undrained
• 6 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced small
• 1/2 small onion, diced small
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 to 4 tablespoons melted butter, as needed
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Details

Servings 18
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 55mins

Preparation

Step 1

1 Preheat oven to 350ºF. Clean stemmed mushrooms and place open side down in a 9X13 glass baking dish. Bake 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and soak up any liquid with paper towel.

2 While mushrooms are baking, drain clams, reserving packing water. Combine clams, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, bell pepper, onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, pepper, and salt in a bowl. Mix to combine. Add desired butter and 2 tablespoons reserved clam juice. Stir until moistened. Add more butter or clam juice if needed.

3 Stuff mushrooms with clam mixture. Top each with a little mozzarella. Bake 30 minutes in middle of oven, until cheese is browned. Serve warm