Mushroom Parmigiana

Chicken parmigiana. It's the first thing I order when I go to the pub. But I'm going to change it up for you today. I'm going to show you my mushroom version. It works so well. It's not only healthier, it's also extremely economical. And I'm going to be using some beautiful Australian flat mushrooms. Look at these giant mushrooms, the size of my hand. They've got a lovely earthy flavour and a meaty texture. Now, I don't wash my mushrooms, particularly these large ones. It's such a shame to do that because mushrooms are like sponges. They're going to absorb all of that water and we don't want that. What I suggest is just grabbing a brush and just brushing it to tidy it up a bit. And these ones are in great condition. You know your mushrooms are in great condition when they're firm, not too spongy, and they haven't shriveled up too much. Alright, what I'm going to do is place these onto a tray. Before I do that, a good glug of olive oil. And I'm also going to add just some salt to my dish. That'll just season the back of the mushrooms. And we'll place them onto our tray. And you want the gill side up, so the brown side. And you can see because they're naturally like a cup, we can fill it with lots of yummy flavours. Now, before I start filling them, a good glug of olive oil just on that gill side. And a good pinch of salt. Think of it like a piece of chicken or some beef. You want to season it generously. And now for the first topping, which is tomato. So some crushed tomatoes, a generous few spoonfuls of it. And when this bakes in the oven, it'll cook the tomato, so you don't need to pre-cook the tomatoes at all. So we're going to fill them up. And it's okay if some of the sauce drizzles down. In actual fact, it's even better. So one can over the top. And then comes the cheese. So I'm using a variety of cheeses. Mozzarella, and be really generous with the mozzarella. And some parmesan cheese. This then goes into the oven. I've set my oven to 180 degrees. And they're going to take about 20 to 30 minutes or until they're golden brown and that cheese is nice and oozy. All right, for the crunchy topping, a few ingredients, some day old sourdough. Day old sourdough is fantastic. Usually we just throw in the bin, but it makes the best crumbs. So I'm just placing this into a little food processor, along with some garlic, rosemary, and another good pinch of salt. And usually you would put the crumbs onto the parmesan and then into the oven. But I want maximum crunch. So I'm going to cook this crumb separately and then garnish it later on. Add a good glug of oil to a pan. Now, a good tip when you're frying breadcrumbs in a pan is to ensure the pan's not too hot because they'll color too fast and not get crunchy. So just on a medium heat is what we're after. And see how it sizzles just like that? That's fantastic. So after you add all of those breadcrumbs, you'll see it completely absorb all of the oil. Just give it a good toss and a stir so all the crumbs are coated in the oil. And then don't walk away. Keep an eye on them. This should take about four to five minutes until crispy. Okay, you can see how crispy our breadcrumbs have become. And it smells fantastic with that garlic and rosemary. And have a look at these mushrooms. Aren't they perfection? I love this because you don't have to pre-cook the mushrooms. Just layer with the cheese and the tomato into the oven, and they're cooked within that 20 minutes. So I'll grab one of these flat mushrooms and carefully transfer it over to a plate. I'm going to serve it with a simple salad, some mesclun leaves, along with some vinegar. I've got some white balsamic. You could just use the regular balsamic or any acid you like. Even lemon juice is great with this. Some salt. We'll give that a bit of a toss. We'll place this next to our mushroom. Just a little more. And the all important crunch. These gorgeous crumbs over the top. And that for me is such a satisfying dinner or lunch. The texture there, the crunch is just so important. You've got that lovely sauce and that oozy cheese. Enough talking. I've got to get into this. Let's have a look. Mushroom perfectly cooked. That honestly is an epic dish. That combination is so good. This is why I love mushrooms. They're so versatile. And I love it because it's really easy to do, economical and healthy. Win-win. You're going to love it, I promise.