Recipe: nettle stuffed mushrooms

At this time of year, I'm always looking for new nettle recipes to try and this one came to me when I saw these huge Portobello mushrooms in the market on Saturday. You'll be amazed at how substantial they are! I thought two would be just enough for a light supper, but I was completely stuffed by the time I'd eaten them both... Vegans can use olive or groundnut oil in place of the butter and if you don't want cheese, add a sprinkle of pine nuts for the topping. Bon appetit!


(Serves 4 as starter 2 as main course)
1 colanderful young nettle tops
4 large portobello or field mushrooms
olive oil
75g butter
sea salt and black pepper
100g goats' cheese

Set the oven to 220C /Gas 7 and put a baking tray in to heat. Rinse the nettles and while still wet, put them in a pan with about two thirds of the butter. Cover and cook slowly until thoroughly wilted.
Take the mushrooms, prick the tops all over and brush with olive oil. Remove the greens from the pan, squeeze out the bulk of the moisture and chop coarsely, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Add a grating of nutmeg too if you like it. place a quarter of the greens in each mushroom top and add another tiny (half cm cube is plenty) knob of butter to each cap. Put them on the hot baking tray and bake in the middle of the oven for about 10 minutes. Then take them out of the oven and place a slice of goat cheese on top and return to the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes or until the cheese has started to melt. Serve immediately with a green salad.