Irish Stuffed Mushrooms

MUSHROOMS, Mushrooms, mushrooms: In all 8 Celtic Nations there is a massive love affair with mushrooms. References of the Celts love affair with mushrooms can be found from where the author J.R.R. Tolkien first referred to mushrooms, when talking about the Shire (a similarity to his childhood home on the borders of Wales). To the highly Prized Mt. Greeba Mushrooms . from the Island of Mann, which are found in nearly every major Fine dinning kitchen in Europe. To where in both Galicia and Asturia, there are over 2,000 different types of wild mushrooms, that transcends the Bretons love affair for truffles. In all 8 Celtic Nations, there is a love affair with Mushrooms. Since many of the 8 Celtic Nations are very close to a coastline, or with areas with wet bogs or marshlands, it is only natural that mushrooms have been an intricate part of Celtic Cuisine.

According to the Oxford press, mushrooms have been consumed by the Celts since their earliest origins near Hallstatt, Austria in the 8th Century BCE. There is even a theory that the people who first built the ancient Dolmans on the west coast of Ireland ate mushrooms along with oysters. The real science behind growing mushrooms commercially started in the 1600s when French agriculturist Olivier de Serres described a method of how “mushrooms could be grown in a controlled way by transplanting their mycelia.” This was demonstrated in 1678 to the French Academie des Sciences

On a nutritional aspect, mushrooms are “low in calories, cholesterol, fat and sodium yet packed with essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They’re also a good source of easily absorbed, high quality vegetable protein with the added bonus of amino acids,” This recipe of the Irish, infuses the love affairs of Mushrooms with the crunchy flavors of Walnuts and bread crumbs and minced with sautéed shallots in Butter or Olive Oil.

Serves 4-6

1 lb of Mushrooms whole
3⁄4 c up of Butter
½ cup of finely chopped Walnuts
1⁄3 cup of chopped Shallots
1⁄3 cup of Bread Crumbs
½ tsp Thyme
¼ tsp White Pepper

Step 1 . Place the chopped Shallots in a sauce pan with 1/2 a cup of butter.

Step 2. Break off the Stem from the Mushrooms and using only half of them, chop up finely

Step 3. Place the chopped stems in the sauce pan along with the walnuts and thyme. Mix and allow to simmer add in the bread crumbs. Make sure the mixture is evenly moist with butter, add more butter if needed.

Step 4. In a fry pan melt the remaining butter and gently cook the mushroom caps. When they are evenly coated with butter remove and pinch the mixture into the Mushroom caps serve warm.

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