Mem’s Mushroom Baskets
During the recent lockdown, I spent a lot more time in the kitchen, which I welcomed whole heartedly. I had more time to experiment and create new recipes and work on ideas. One of which were these stuffed mushrooms in pastry baskets! Danny and I were having a conversation about vegan options for the main component of a sunday roast and how we need to come up with something new. We love anything pastry based and obviously adore a stuffed mushroom, so Danny said “cover the mushroom in pastry!” So I will give him the credit for the idea… but then I made it happen… and he was delighted! (What a team!). Since coming up with the recipe we’ve had them a bunch of times and we can’t get enough.
The mixture for the filling is a bit like a rich and creamy red pesto with a little kick (which you can alter to your taste of course) and with the lemony breadcrumbs on top, it makes for a delightful alternative roast dinner. So maybe not your typical sunday roast flavours, but life is about mixing things up isn’t it? We usually serve this up with a side of simple roasted veg and potatoes, but you can go for more of an all out roast if you’d prefer! Of course it doesn’t have to be a roast – for instance, it would go very nicely with mash potato, chips and mushy peas or a couscous salad.

Mem's Mushroom Baskets
A flavour packed stuffed mushroom in a pastry basket.
Ingredients
- 1 roll vegan puff pastry just roll or supermarket own brands are vegan
- 4 large portobello or flat mushrooms bigger the better!
- 1 Tbsp plant based milk I used oat
- 3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
For the filling
- 3 Tbsp pine nuts
- 4 Tbsp Nutritional yeast we use Engivita brand
- 3 Tbsp breadcrumbs or a few slices of bread
- 1 large handful of fresh basil leaves
- 1 medium fresh red chilli remove the seeds if you like it mild
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 Tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp vegan cream cheese I used violife
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp tomato pureé
- salt and pepper to season
Instructions
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Pre-heat the oven to 200°c. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
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If you need to make your own breadcrumbs, start by blitzing up the bread in a blender until it has broken down into small crumbs (discard any big lumps that won't blend). Take roughly 3 Tbsp of the breadcrumbs out and set to one side to use on the topping later, leaving about the same amount in the filling.
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First remove the garlic skins and the tip of the chilli, then add the rest of the filling ingredients into the blender with the breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and then blend until smooth.
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If the mushrooms are a little shabby, peel them if necessary or give them a little wipe, then pull out the stalk so that the mushroom is more of a cup. You can then chuck these stalks into the blender and blend them up with the filling (no waste here!).
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Place the mushrooms on a baking tray with a small drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper, cook them in the oven for 8-10 mins. Take the pastry out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
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Once the mushrooms have cooked a little, take them out and leave them to cool whilst you prep the pastry. (This is important so the pastry sticks to them easier).
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Cut the pastry into 4 large squares and 8 thin strips to use as handles (see pictures for a reference). Once the mushrooms are cool, divide the filling between them all and then top with breadcrumbs and a squeeze of lemon juice.
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Place each mushroom into the middle of a pastry square, pinch the sides and fold in the corners so that the pastry is hugging the mushroom (it doesn't matter if it's not super neat). Use 2 strips of pastry to make a cross over each mushroom pinch the ends slightly so that it sticks to the bottom pastry. Brush with a little plant based milk, place on the baking tray and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes until golden brown.
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We recommend serving the mushroom baskets up with oven roasted veggies or a crispy salad and potatoes.