The Best Ever Appetizer: Goat Cheese Mushroom Caps

I love appetizers! They are tasty little bites that are creative and flavourful, and know no boundaries. Unlike your standard meal, appetizers don't have to follow the "protein, vegetable, starch" guideline and for that they are much better off. They are all flavour and pack a full palate punch.



Since I love the little things so much, I have a few coveted recipes that I often get requests to make - especially during the holidays. And if I'll ever be famous for something, it may just be for my goat cheese mushroom caps.

White or brown button mushrooms filled with goat cheese and topped with a breadcrumb mixture of toasted pine nuts, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, parsley and day-old bread. You can easily turn this recipe into a main course by using large Portobello mushrooms instead of small button mushrooms.


Goat Cheese Mushroom Caps (serves 6)

Ingredients
1 cup cubed day-old bread
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
4 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons parsley
salt and pepper to taste
20 white or brown mushroom caps
113 grams soft unripened goat cheese

Directions
Take each mushroom cap and gently break the stem away and scoop out the insides, removing the gills. Sprinkle the clean caps with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a pan on the stove top over a low heat to release their oils, toast until golden and fragrant.

In a food processor, combine the bread, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, parsley and pine nuts. Pulse until you get a breadcrumb texture.

Spoon a little goat cheese into each cap, covering the bottom of each cap. Top with a spoonful of the bread crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until golden and sizzling. Serve on a platter and enjoy!