ROAST PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS WITH CHESTNUT STUFFING with Red Wine Sauce
Look for the largest juiciest-looking portobellos for this dish. If your mushrooms are smaller you may have extra stuffing, which you can bake in a casserole alongside the stuffed mushrooms.
Ingredients
MUS
HROOMS
12 large portobello mushrooms
1.2
cup (125 mL) olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
CHESTNUT STUFFING
1/4 cup (50 mL) olive oil
1 cup (250 mL) chopped onion
1
cup (250 mL) chopped fennel
2 tsp (10 mL) chopped garlic
2 1/2 cups (575 mL) vacuum-packed chestnuts, chopped, about 14 oz (400 g)
4 cups (1 L) fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped Italian parsley
2/3 cup (150 mL) unsweetened apple juice

1 Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
2 Cut portobello stems flush with caps and chop. Reserve. You should have about 11/2 cups (375 mL).
3 Heat 2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Working in batches, add mushroom caps to pan and fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until just beginning to soften. Repeat with remaining mushroom caps, adding more oil to pan as needed. Lay 6 mush­ room caps, gill-side up, on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4 Add olive oil to skillet over medium heat. Add onions and fennel and saute for 10 minutes or until slightly caramelized. Add garlic, chest­ nuts and reserved mushroom stems and saute for 2 minutes or until mushrooms are juicy. Remove from heat.
5 Add bread crumbs and parsley to skillet and enough apple juice to moisten stuffing well. Season well with salt and pepper. Divide stuffing into 6 portions and place on top of each of the 6 prepared mushroom caps. Top with remaining 6 mushroom caps, gill-side down, to make a kind of sandwich. Do not totally enclose the stuffing. Roast for 15 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and stuffing is crisp around the edges. Drizzle with Rich Red Wine Sauce (recipe follows).
Serves 6
RICH RED WINE SAUCE

Pomegranate juice gives a wonderful colour as well as a subtle flavour to this sauce. This is similar to a Beurre blanc sauce but made with red wine.
Ingredients
1 cup (250 mL) red wine
1 cup (250 mL) pomegranate juice 1 tbsp (15 mL) light soy sauce
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) hummus, cut into pieces

1 Combine red wine, pomegranate juice, soy sauce and sugar in a heavy pot over high heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in hummus, slowly, until fully incorporated and emulsified.

Makes 2/3 cup (150 ML)