Parasol Caps Stuffed with Wild Rice

Large, elegant parasol mushroom caps are basically the hot cousin of regular portobellos from a store. The shape of the caps of both (as well as many others, especially agaricoid mushrooms) makes for great stuffed mushrooms, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that there’s lots of recipes for doing just that.

A nice ring of large shaggy parasol mushrooms.

Unfortunately, wild mushrooms perfect for stuffing were, at least for me, additions to my foraging repertoire that came years later than some of the easier to identify mushrooms like chanterelles, puffballs, and chicken of the woods. 

Removing the stems from the caps.

Cutting stems into strips.

Dicing the stem strips into tiny cubes.

Finished stuffing.

Alan’s Tips 

Stuffed mushroom caps are delicious, and can be rich enough to be a light meal in themselves, preferably with a salad. I have a things I always keep in mind when throwing some together, here’s the most important as I see them: 

• The stems, if available, should be chopped, cooked, and added to the filling. 
• Breadcrumbs are necessary to help bind the filling and hold moisture. 
• Cheese. Because cheese. Preferably good parmesan like Grana padano or parm reggiano. 
• Meat is optional, but this is a perfect place for a leftover hunk of bacon, a couple slices of ham or  a bit of crumbled sausage. 
• Some kind of starch. Here I use wild rice, but bulgur, white rice, quinoa or other grains work well too. 

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Parasol Caps with Wild Rice Stuffing

Wild parasol mushroom caps stuffed with wild rice, venison ham, and parmesan

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Shaggy Parasol

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 stuffable parasol mushrooms with long stems about 11 oz in total, expect some variation, with smaller mushrooms you may want anywhere from 6-8 caps
• 1 small shallot 1oz
• ½ cup cooked natural wild rice
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• Fresh thyme about 1 teaspoon chopped, or to taste
• 1 oz bacon finely diced or finely chopped (I used venison bacon I make)
• 2 T breadcrumbs
• 2 T quality grated parmesan
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper from a mill

Instructions

• Remove the stems from the mushrooms and dice them as fine as possible by cutting them into thin strips (refer to my images here).
• Dice the shallot as fine as you can or finely chop it.
• In a shallow, wide pan, such as a cast iron skillet or in an 8 inch saute pan, Sweat the bacon and shallot in the butter, without letting the butter brown. Add the mushroom stems, thyme, a few good cracks of fresh pepper and a pinch of salt, and cook on medium-high until the mushrooms are wilted and have released their liquid about 5-10 minutes. Add the wild rice and warm just to heat it through, then add the breadcrumbs and parmesan. Taste and adjust the seasoning for salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle the tops of the stuffed mushrooms with parmesan, bake in a preheated 400 F oven for 5 minutes, then turn down the heat and cook for another 20-30 minutes more, or until the top is golden and the mushrooms are thoroughly cooked.
• They’re great with a fresh green salad and/or soup, or with cooked greens alongside as an entrée.