Four Cheese-Stuffed Portobellos

• Recipe by Laurent Tourondel

Tourondel’s mushrooms, which are stuffed with cheese, brightened with lemon zest and topped with golden toasted bread crumbs, are a perfect side dish or appetizer. Panko (Japanese bread crumbs) are lovely here, but if you can’t find them at an Asian market or specialty store, substitute any kind of coarse-textured bread crumbs that will provide some satisfying crunch.

Ingredients

1. Ten 3- to 4-inch-wide portobello mushroom caps, black gills removed
2. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
3. Salt and freshly ground pepper
4. 3 ounces each of Gruyère, Muenster, mozzarella and Manchego, shredded
5. Finely grated zest of 2 lemons
6. 1 tablespoon chopped basil
7. 4 garlic cloves, minced
8. 1 cup panko
9. 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Brush the mushroom caps on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a large rimmed baking sheet, gill side down, and bake until tender, about 20 minutes, then turn gill side up.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cheeses with the lemon zest, basil, three-fourths of the minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season the cheese filling with salt and pepper. Mound the stuffing onto the mushroom caps. Bake the stuffed mushrooms until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
3. Preheat the broiler. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the panko and parsley with the remaining minced garlic and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle the panko mixture over the mushrooms and broil 4 inches from the heat until browned, about 2 minutes. Serve right away.

Make Ahead

The stuffed mushrooms can be refrigerated overnight before baking.