Stuffed Mushrooms

Preheat oven to 400°F

the pinenuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring until golden and toasty, set aside.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them very finely; you’ll need 1 ½ cups (set them aside). Place 20 mushroom caps on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Spray with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in the same skillet, add the onions, bell pepper, garlic, and mushroom stems, and saute over medium-high heat, stirring until tender, reducing the heat if necessary. Add the salt, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and pepper, and saute for a few more minutes.

Place this in a medium bowl with the cream cheese, pine nuts, pecorino, parsley, and lemon zest and mix until combined. Season to taste.

Using two small spoons, stuff each mushroom with about 1 tablespoon of filling, dividing equally.

on the middle rack until the mushrooms get tender, and the tops are just golden, about 18-24 minutes, depending on size. See notes.

Sprinkle with more chopped parsley and serve.