This is what indulgence tastes like.
This delightful recipe was the appetizer in our 5-course anniversary dinner back in July. As beef was the entrée, I wanted a different protein to be part of the appetizer. What says special occasion better than lobster? I guess other types of shellfish would suffice, but when you take aforementioned lobster and poach it in wine, you’ve upped the game even more. This may have been my favorite course of the meal.
Although it was my favorite dish, I did think that the recipe needed some tweaking. Our anniversary was the first time that I made this dish, so I found a recipe online and made it exactly as directed. While it was delicious, I wanted to make a change or two. The first thing I did was reduce the amount of panko in the recipe. Why have lots of bread crumbs and hide the yumminess of the lobster? With less panko, I also needed to reduce the amount of wine. However, with less panko, the crispness of the wine still shines.
As I was tweaking the recipe I also decided to try replacing the heavy cream with low-fat milk. That was a big NO. Even though the amount of milk is small, cream really delivers an unctuousness that milk can’t. Plus, this is meant to be an indulgent dish, not a healthy, weekday lunch. Go ahead and splurge on the two (2!) tablespoons of cream.
Another interesting thing about this recipe is the topping of parmesan. For many people in the food world, cheese and shellfish are a no-no. While that is a rule that I follow most of the time, for this recipe I say to heck with the rules. A sprinkling of parmesan adds a fine finish to this dish.
A final word of advice when making this dish: don’t buy cheap wine. As is often said, only cook with wine you’d drink. That’s even more true in this dish, as the wine is a key component in the filling. Plus, you use so little in the recipe, you’ll have a good amount left. When the portobellos are done baking, you’re going to want a nice glass of wine to accompany them. Might as well use what you have on hand!
- 4 portobello mushrooms
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 2 cups uncooked lobster meat*
- ⅓ cup panko
- ¼ cup + 2 Tb. shredded parmesan
- 2 Tb. heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Clean out the gills of the portobellos mushrooms, using a spoon.
- Chop the stems and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, bring wine to a boil.
- Chop lobster into small pieces.
- Add lobster meat, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in panko, ¼ cup parmesan, and chopped mushroom stems until thick.
- Add heavy cream and mix well.
- Spoon stuffing into the mushroom caps and cover with remaining 2 tablespoons of parmesan.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- I used 2 lobster tails, which equaled 2 cups.
