The oozing centres of these bite-sized stuffed mushrooms make it impossible to stop at just one. Perfect as canapés.
Ingredients
- For the mushrooms
- 300ml/½ pint
vegetable oil, for deep frying - 40
mushrooms (approx 4-5 per person) - 200g/7oz
Stilton, crumbled - 100g/3½oz
plain flour - 3 free-range
eggs, beaten - 100g/3½oz fresh
breadcrumbs
- 300ml/½ pint
- For the salad
- 80g/3½oz fresh
basil - 50g/2oz chopped fresh
chives - 80g/3½oz fresh
parsley - 200g/7oz
spinach - 3 tbsp
balsamic vinegar - 3 tbsp
olive oil - salt and freshly ground
black pepper
- 80g/3½oz fresh
- For the cranberry relish
- 2 tbsp
olive oil - 1
onion, chopped - 4 tbsp
red wine vinegar - 6 tbsp
brown sugar - 100g/3½oz
cranberries
- 2 tbsp
Preparation method
For the mushrooms, place the vegetable oil into a deep, heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat until a small cube of bread sizzles and turns golden when dropped into it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and discard. Place a spoonful of crumbled Stilton onto each mushroom on the stalk side.
Place the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs into three separate bowls and dip each mushroom into each bowl in turn, shaking off any excess.
Carefully place the mushrooms into the hot oil and deep fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
For the salad, place the basil, chives, parsley and spinach into a large bowl. Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and oil, season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well to coat the leaves.
For the cranberry relish, heat the oil in a saucepan, place the onion, vinegar, sugar and cranberries into the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes.
To serve, place the salad onto a plate with the mushrooms on top and the relish spooned over.