Chimney Stacks - Savoury Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms!

Ingredients

• 6 large portabella mushrooms, wiped clean
• 125 g good quality sausages or good quality sausage meat
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 garlic cloves, diced finely
• 1/2 red onion, peeled & diced finely
• 1/2 red pepper, diced finely
• 4 drained sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, diced finely
• 50 g parmesan cheese
• freshly ground sea salt
• freshly ground mixed peppercorns
• 50 g grated cheddar cheese
• 1-2 fresh tomatoes, sliced thinly
• parsley (to garnish)

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 7.

2. 2

   Take a large earthenware ovenproof dish and pour in half the olive oil, swill it around to cover the base.

3. 3

   Gently remove the stalks from the mushrooms and set aside.

4. 4

   If using sausages, take the sausage casings off them and break them up into a large bowl.

5. 5

   Heat up the remaining olive oil and add the garlic, onion and red pepper. Cook over a medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until they are soft.

6. 6

   Add the onion, garlic & red pepper mixture to the sausagemeat & give it all a good mix.

7. 7

   Add the sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, a good twist or two of salt & mixed peppercorns and mix thoroughly again.

8. 8

   Stuff each mushroom with the sausage mixture and place into the oiled ovenproof dish.

9. 9

   Place a tomato slice on each of the mushrooms, making a hole in the middle of each slice.

10. 10

    Sprinkle on the cheddar cheese and push a mushroom stalk into each of the stuffed mushrooms, through the hole in the tomato slice.

11. 11

    Optional: If you have any of the sun-dried tomato oil available, drizzle a little over the top of the mushrooms.

12. 12

    Bake in a preheated oven for 50-60 minutes; it depends on the size of the mushrooms.

13. 13

    Garnish with chopped parsley & serve warm with chunky home-made bread and/or salad.

14. 14

    Allow one mushrom per person as a starter and two per person for lunch or a lght meal.