RECIPE | MUSHROOM MEDLEY STUFFING

When I made the conscious choice to become a part-time vegetarian I thought, "What am I going to eat?". My diet was meat heavy (about one serving of meat per meal) but I knew if I slowly weaned myself off it, it would encourage my family and I to eat more greens and more importantly, eat in a way to support a sustainable earth. As I started to research vegetarian recipes, I realized the idea is not so scary after all. After committing to this goal for more than a year, I haven't looked back, I feel healthier and cleaner. This recipe is a great vegetarian side dish for those who want to make that transition or if you're a mushroom lover! It's inspired by Chef Jamie Oliver with a few adjustments and the greatest thing about it is you can choose any savoury mushroom you'd like (I would avoid using Shiitake Mushrooms as it's a sweeter mushroom). Enjoy!

SERVES 6 | PREP TIME 35 MINS | COOK TIME 45 MINS

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Mixed Mushroom Stuffing

2 Shallots finely chopped

4 Cloves of Garlicfinely chopped

560 grams (or 2 small containers) of Cremini Mushrooms chopped

230 grams (or 1 small container) of White Button Mushrooms chopped

200 grams (or 1 small container) of Oyster Mushrooms chopped

350 grams of a baguette, torn up into pieces

100 grams of Hazelnuts/Chestnuts (or 50 g of hazelnuts and 50 g chestnuts) roughly chopped

1 handful of Fresh Parsley chopped

5 tbsps of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Bay Leaves

1 handful of Fresh Thyme Leaves stripped off stems

2 teaspoons of Salt1 teaspoon of Pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Chop up your shallots, garlic, mushrooms, parsley and nuts separately.
3. Tear baguette into large pieces and line the bottom of your deep baking dish with the pieces.In a separate bowl, grab a handful of mushrooms (could be a variety of each) & soak them in hot boiling water for 5 minutes.
4. Drain and reserve the liquid. We are creating a mushroom broth here for later.In a large frying pan on medium high heat, add 2 tbsps of olive oil and add the nuts in to fry until lightly toasted (approximately 2 minutes).
5. Remove nuts from pan and set aside.
6. Heat the remaining olive oil on medium high in the same pan.
7. Add shallots and garlic and fry until translucent (approx 1 minute). Do not allow it to turn brown.
8. With the drained mushrooms and non-soaked mushrooms, fry with the shallots/garlic until soft.
9. Add in thyme & bay leaves.With the juices from the pan, pour it over the baguette pieces in your baking dish.
10. Once mushrooms are cooked, allow it to cool. Once cooled, mix in the nuts with salt and pepper.
11. Spread mushroom & nut mixture over your bread until even.If stuffing is a bit dry, add 1/4 cup or more of the mushroom broth to the baking dish - this all depends on how moist you want your stuffing.
12. Sprinkle half of the chopped parsley over the dish and reserve some for garnishing
13. Bake in oven for 35 minutes while covered. Then bake for another 10 minutes uncovered.
14. Garnish with the rest of the parsley.