Stuffed Mushrooms with Anchovies

I had wanted to make Stuffed Mushrooms with Anchovies in the summer of 2010 when our friend Kathleen was having a retirement parties. Bob dissuaded me from the attempt, saying there was plenty of food. However, I had the anchovies all ready, so when Bob's church's dinner group assigned us to make appetizers, I was ready to leap into action. Except, I had agreed to drive down to Prince William Forest Park in company with two other women to inspect the facility for a large Girl Scout camp out that I will be co-running in May.

So, Bob offered to make the mushrooms, and I said, hell yes. In the best tradition of the blog, he fooled with the recipe, and put in two cloves of garlic and two cans of anchovies. Unlike the last recipe of some item stuffed with anchovies (tomatoes stuffed with anchovies May 2011), this was not too salty and was well received by the masses.

Stuffed Mushrooms with Anchovies

24 medium size to large mushroom caps, or forty tiny caps

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 two and a half ounce can anchovy fillets

1 clove (or more) garlic finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3/4 cup soft bread crumbs

1/4 cup chopped parsley

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Saute the mushroom caps in three tablespoons of the oil two to three minutes.

3. Chop the anchovies with the garlic. Add the lemon juice, bread crumbs and parsley and mix. Season with pepper.

4. Fill the caps with the mixture, drizzle remaining oil over all and bake until hot, about fifteen minutes. Makes six to eight servings.