Baked Mushrooms & Brie or Camembert Cheese Wheel w/ Garlic, Butter, Lemon and Parsley

This recipe from The Smitten Kitchen is the perfect comfort food to welcome in a cold and rainy New Year. Use prepared organic mushrooms and a cheese wheel of your choice: brie or camembert made of buffalo, goat, grass fed cow, or imitation dairy. Bake for 25 minutes and serve one and all with toasted baguette slices (or in small bowls).

My Paleo Marin Rating: 5 Persimmons*

How to Make Baked Mushrooms & Cheese Wheel:

Ingredients for Making Baked Mushrooms & Cheese Wheel:

1 pound mushrooms, any combination such as cremini and oyster

2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped

2 - 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

1 teasoon Diamond kosher salt (half of other brands)

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

8-ounce wheel of camembert or brie cheese; top layer of cheese rind removed with a knife but sides left intact

Sprigs of thyme (optional)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Baguette brushed with olive oil and garlic (for gluten free baguette, see here)

Directions for Making Baked Mushrooms & Cheese Wheel:

Preheat oven to 450º F. Select a 2-quart baking dish that withstands this high temperature.

1. In a medium bowl, combine the mushrooms, capers, garlic, oil, salt and several grinds of black pepper. Toss to combine and put mixture in the baking dish. Dot with the butter pieces. Bake for 15 minutes. Toss the mixture half way through baking.

2. Remove the dish from the oven and add the cheese wheel in the center. Add the thyme on top of the cheese if using. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble and melt. 

3. Remove from the oven. Squeeze the lemon juice and scatter the chopped parsley over the mushrooms.

4. If serving bread, brush the baguette slices (gluten free option here) with olive oil and cut garlic. Toast in a toaster oven for a few minutes until browned.

Serve hot with a small spoon for the cheese and a large spoon for the mushrooms. Refrigerate leftovers and reheat at 400ºF for 10 - 15 minutes.

#paleo #mushrooms #garlic #butter #appetizer #maincourse #vegetarian #snack #camembert #cheese #brie #buffalo #goat #grassfed #imitationcheese 

Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen here. 

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, costt.