Thanksgiving is just a few weeks away. For many people, the celebration will be a little different this year. Smaller gatherings, individual size portions, no long, lengthy hugs. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and when the lovely folks from Melissa’s Produce extended an offer to be introduced to a brand new (to me) olive oil company and create a side dish, I knew these Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms would be a perfect way to make this holiday fun and festive!
Let me introduce you to Garcia de la Cruz Olive Oil. From family-owned olive groves in the foothills of sunny Montest de Toldeo in Spain, Garcia de la Cruz Olive Oil produces olives from groves of trees that have been in their family for 148 years. See what I mean when I said they were “new to me” because they are certainly NOT a “new” company. They’ve been around for a very long time, so obviously, they know what they’re doing!
Founded by a woman, Adelaida Fernandez-Cuellar, in 1872, at a time when it was unheard of for a woman to run or even own a business. Now in it’s 5th generation, producing organic olive oils, the entire production, from growing and caring for their variety of olive trees, to harvesting and extracting the oil is done on-site to ensure the freshest, highest quality olive oil possible.
Garcia de la Cruz is also committed to taking care of the environment and believe in sustainable practices and eliminating waste completely. After the oil is extracted from their olives, they turn the leftover water, skin and pulp of the olives into compost which they are transformed into organic fertilizers and returned to the groves. The olive pits are use as biofuel to heat their facilities. How cool is that?!?!
So now that you love them, here’s the topper, the bottles that this olive oil comes in are simply stunning! This is not oil you hide away in the cabinet, this oil, sits front and center near your stovetop and I double dog dare you not to use it every day! It’s so good! You’ll be adding it to everything before you know it!
The Early Harvest OrganicExtra Virgin Olive Oils are available for purchase on Amazon. Presented in elegant and beautiful packaging, this oil is ideal for holiday gift giving! Certified vegan, nonGMO, AND USDA Certified Organic, so you can feel great about giving this to the people you love!
Stuffing Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 12 whole stuffing mushrooms These are usually a bit larger than regular mushrooms. Portabella Caps would be lovely too
- 1/4 cup Garcia de la Cruz Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
- 1/4 cup Melissa's Produce Shallots, diced
- 4 cloves Melissa's Produce Garlic, minced
- 2 TBLS fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground sage
- 1 TBLS fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup prepared cornbread crumbles You could also use homemade breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Gently wipe any excess dirt from the mushroom caps. Don't wash them as they will soak up some of the moisture and become mushy.
- Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them into small pieces. Discard or compost any tough ends you find, as they won't be very tasty.
- Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons Garcia de la Cruz Olive Oil to the pan.
- Add the shallots, garlic, and mushrooms to the skillet. Cook until the ingredients are softened, stirring occasionally, about 4-6 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine the mushroom mixture with the parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Taste and add any additional salt and pepper if needed.
- Place mushrooms in a shallow baking dish. Stuff them with the cornbread mixture, pressing down gently to get as much of the stuffing in as possible. Go ahead and mound it up on top and let some spill down the sides, it's all good!
- Drizzle the remaining two tablespoons olive oil on top of the stuffed mushrooms.
- Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the mushrooms and stuffing are golden brown.
- Serve warm.
