Rosh Hashanah is a holiday with no food rules. Okay there’s one: eat a lot of honey and apples. A sweet New Year. This year I decided to make a little celebration with a handful of friends. I was in the mood to try some new things and I was hoping that they were too. Turns out, they were ready for some taste-testing too (shocking). The menu will come out as I write these posts and I’ll be sure to label each thing accordingly, since I still have older posts waiting to be posted and newer ones that get pushed to the front when I get super extra excited.

We started with an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms. I don’t think I’ve ever made these before as I generally associate this dish with things I can’t eat (you know- cheese, bread crumbs, etc). But the mushrooms at the SFC Farmers’ Market looked so good I couldn’t resist. I also had a large zucchini and I was getting awfully sick of those green guys. So here’s my solution…

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
12 white or brown medium sized mushrooms
1 large zucchini, de-seeded and cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic, cut into small pieces
1-2 Tablespoons white wine
1/4 cup parsley (tough stems removed)
1/3 cup bread crumbs
6 ounces goat cheese (or half of a large log)
chili flakes (optional)

To prepare the mushrooms: Lightly oil an 8×8 pyrex. The mushrooms shouldn’t be crowded, but they don’t need much space. First, remove the stems and KEEP for making soup (for the first course). I don’t own a mushroom brush, so I use a slightly dampened paper towel to scrub off any dirt. Then place mushrooms in the pan and let them sit while you prep the filling.

Saute zucchini and garlic in 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil until completely tender over medium heat. Place the zucchini in a food processor. Deglaze the pan with 2 tablespoons of white wine: do this by turning the heat up to medium-high and add the wine while scraping up the bits of zucchini/garlic left in the pan. Turn the heat off and reserve the liquid.

Add to the zucchini the goat cheese, parsley, half of the bread crumbs, and reserved wine from the pan and blend until smooth. Add salt, pepper, and chili flakes to taste. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Scoop the filling into prepared mushrooms. Top with a sprinkle of the remaining breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, turn the heat up to 400 and bake another 5 minutes. This is an estimate!

The mushrooms went so fast I didn’t get a final picture! But here’s pre-baking…

FYI- this made more stuffing than what I could use in the shrooms. Either double up on the mushrooms or do as I did: put the spread on toast and broil it, or serve it as a dip.