This is a great recipe for a hot starter or as a side dish. You can also use brown mushrooms and mozarella cheese if you don’t have the other ingredients. Taleggio is a cheese that’s kind of like a mixture of Brie and Camembert, its kind of the same. Its gorgeous!
Start with the sauce first as it needs to simmer for a while.
For the Tomato Sauce:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 -3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bunch basil stalks or a tsp dried oregano
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
1 whole red chili (pierced once with a knife to prevent from bursting during cooking)
2 cans of whole peeled plum tomatoes
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp red wine vinegar
– Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Fry the chopped garlic until lightly golden. Add the basil stalks or oregano and the chili. Add the tomatoes. Keep the tomatoes whole until right at the end as the seeds cab be bitter and you want the sauce as sweet as possible. Season with salt and pepper and gently simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the chili and discard.
– Mash the tomatoes right at the end of the cooking process with a fork to puree. Add the fresh basil leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning and add the red wine vinegar.
For the Mushrooms
6 large portobello or brown mushrooms
About 6 slices of Taleggio (enough to cover each mushroom)
1 – 2 sprigs fresh thyme (leaves removed from stalks)
Fresh breadcrumbs that have been drizzled with olive oil and a touch of fresh sea salt
– Heat oven to 220 C.
– Pour the warm tomato sauce into a small backing tray or small casserole dish.
– Place the mushrooms in the sauce with the stalks facing up. Put the Taleggio slices on top and sprinkle with a few thyme leaves and a few breadcrumbs.
– Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Serve hot!
Recipe by Jamie Oliver
Stick A Fork In Me I'm Dunne! 