24 large fresh mushrooms
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon toasted fennel seed, ground*
1 Tablespoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop; reserve the caps. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan. Add onion and cook until softened; about 5 minutes. Add the chopped stems and cook over high heat until they begin to dry; about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant; about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the same pan. Cook the pork, breaking it up with a spoon, until cooked through. Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel seed and orange zest. Add the cooked mushroom and onion mixture and bread crumbs; mix well. Season to your own taste with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Stuff the pork mixture into the mushroom caps. Place the mushrooms in a baking pan and drizzle chicken broth around them. Bake until they are cooked through; about 20 minutes.
Place them on a platter and drizzle with the broth from the pan, serve warm.
*Toast whole fennel seeds in a frying pan over moderate heat until fragrant; about 1-2 minutes. Let them cool slightly and place in an electric spice mill or a clean coffee grinder to pulverize, or crush them with a mortar and pestle.
- Recipe courtesy of Cathy Pollak