Mushrooms Baked with Blue Cheese

Using the autumn appetite as my excuse, I'm Yoko, a food blogger whose appetite knows no bounds.

Here's a recipe for "Baked Mushrooms with Blue Cheese," perfect for a long autumn evening!

It's even easier than my last post, Horse Mackerel and Grapefruit Marinade.

It has only two ingredients and takes 10 minutes.

I recommended it with red wine over at Lekker, but cheese dishes in general go well with white wine too! (lol)

In short, it's an all-rounder.

Make it when you want a little something with your wine.

Baked Mushrooms with Blue Cheese

Ingredients (serves 2)

Directions

1. Brush off any dirt from the mushrooms and remove the stems. Roughly chop the stems and mix them with the blue cheese and olive oil.

2. Fill the mushroom caps with the mixture from step 1, drizzle with olive oil and coat well.

3. Put them on a heatproof dish and bake in a toaster oven for 7 to 8 minutes, until the mushrooms shrink slightly and the cheese is browned. Finish with pepper.

Tips

You can eat mushroom stems!

The stems are something people surprisingly throw away. The very bottom end can be dirty, so it's fine to cut that off.

But the stems have a nice, slightly crisp bite and are delicious. If you've been throwing them away, try using them once.

The Difference Between Gorgonzola "Piccante" and "Dolce"

At the supermarket you'll usually find several kinds sold as "blue cheese" and as "gorgonzola."

When you buy gorgonzola, you may see two types, "piccante" and "dolce," or only one of them.

The two taste quite different, so be careful. Choose according to what you want to make.

"Piccante" means "spicy" in Spanish, and as the name says it is properly sharp and salty!

It has to be aged for at least 80 days, and the cheese is a bit firm with blue marbling throughout.

Its sharp, salty flavor stands out more than creaminess, so use it in rice and pasta dishes and sauces.

"Dolce" means "sweet, soft, dessert," and it is much milder and creamier than piccante.

It's aged for at least 50 days, shorter than piccante, so there is less marbling.

The flavor is creamy and delicate, so I recommend using it in desserts like cheesecake!

When you buy gorgonzola, check the package carefully so you don't mix them up!

Recommended Wine

This recipe is also featured at Lekker Africa, which sells South African wine.

I contribute wine comments and recipes to Lekker, and for this recipe I recommend the Boekenhoutskloof Chocolate Block Syrah blend.

It's 71% Syrah, blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and others, for a well-balanced taste.

Syrah on its own can be a bit edgy, but here the other grape varieties seem to support it.

As the name Chocolate Block suggests, it tastes like deep, bitter chocolate, and it stays enjoyable for a while after opening.

I explain South African wine briefly in the post below, so have a read if you're interested!

South African Wine: Great Value, and What to Look For