These make a lovely light supper or lunch, perhaps with a crisp salad alongside. The mushrooms turn soft and juicy in the oven, while the creamed spinach bubbles away beneath a golden crust of breadcrumbs and cheddar. It’s simple, comforting food, but done carefully it feels rather special.
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 large open-cap mushrooms, such as portobello
2 Tbls olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
The leaves from 3–4 thyme sprigs
A handful of coarse fresh white breadcrumbs
25g grated cheddar cheese
250g spinach
300ml whole milk
2 bay leaves
30g butter
30g plain flour
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the bay leaves and warm gently over a low heat until just steaming. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, rinse the spinach well, stripping away any particularly coarse stems as you go. If you’re using young leaf spinach, there’s no need to be too fussy. Put the spinach into a large pan set over a high heat and cook for a minute or two, turning it until just wilted. Tip into a colander and leave to cool slightly, then squeeze out as much excess liquid as you can. Roughly chop the spinach and set aside.
Set a medium saucepan over a medium heat and add the butter. Once melted and gently bubbling, sprinkle in the flour and stir well to make a smooth roux. Gradually pour in the warm milk, discarding the bay leaves, stirring all the while. Keep stirring, or use a whisk, until you have a smooth, thickened sauce. Season generously with salt and pepper, then stir through the spinach. Remove from the heat.
Place the mushrooms, cup-side up, on a baking tray. Carefully break out the stalks to make a little more room for the filling, then season the mushrooms well with salt and pepper. Trickle over the olive oil and scatter with the thyme leaves.
Spoon the creamed spinach evenly between the mushrooms, piling it generously into their hollow centres. Scatter over the breadcrumbs and finish with the grated cheddar.
Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and cooked through, the creamed spinach is bubbling, and the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden.
Serve at once.
