Shrimp Stuffed Portobellas with Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce

Shrimp Stuffed Portobello

When you have a little time, and really want to indulge, this is one of those great stepped up recipes. It honestly came from my own indecision a few years ago between stuffed mushrooms and baked stuffed shrimp. I put the two together and it was just plain delicious.

For 4 Very Healthy Servings...

1 lb Jumbo (21-25) Easy Peel Shrimp
4 Portobella Mushroom Caps
1 Roasted Red Pepper Diced
1 Pint Heavy Cream
2/4  Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Cup White Wine (I use Pinot Grigio)
2 Shallots, Finely Diced - about 2 tbsp each for stuffing and sauce
2 tbsp finely diced Celery
Pesto - about 2 heaping tbsp each stuffing and sauce
Ritz Crackers - 1 stack
6 tbsp Butter, Unsalted, 2 for Stuffing, 4 for Sauce
Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Red Pepper flake
1/2 tsp Paprika
Black Pepper
About 6 slices Bacon, crumbled (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375. Remove the stems from the mushroom caps, carefully remove the "gills" with a spoon and wipe the mushroom with a damp paper towel to clean. Lightly coat top and bottom with oil and lightly salt bottom. Roast, bottom side down on a rack for 20 minutes. This step helps draw some of the moisture out of the mushroom. Let cool to handle while you prepare the stuffing.

Remove shell and tail from the shrimp, rinse in cold water, and pat dry with towel. Toss the shrimp in about 2 heaping tbsp of pesto. I use my mother in law's homemade pesto, but a quality market brand will do fine. ( Like her homemade soups, I can't catch her making the pesto. I thing she makes it all at the crack of dawn to protect the recipes. If i get them, i will post.) Grind the crackers in a food processor, course or fine is your preference. I like fine because it seems to stick better to the shrimp, and doesn't get too thick. Put in a wide mixing bowl, add the crushed red pepper, a few good cranks of black pepper and the paprika. Don't be afraid to season to your own taste. some like it hotter than others  In a small saute pan, melt 2 tbsp butter on low, and lightly saute 2 tbsp shallot and all the celery. Mix well into the crackers. I take 5 shrimp at a time and pat into the crackers and start piling on the mushrooms, bottom side up in a lightly sprayed or oiled casserole dish. Depending on the size of your caps, you can usually place 4 right on the cap on on on top center. If you overs tack, the stuffing won't brown & crisp and will get soggy. Pop back into oven for about 40 minutes.

For the Sauce, saute the other 2 tbsp of shallot in a medium sauce pan. As they begin to turn translucent, add the diced roasted red pepper. I use a good brand from the Italian food aisle when I don't have an home made. Saute a couple of minute and add the wine. Raise temp so it  comes to a simmer, and add the other 2 tbsp of pesto. Let reduce and allow flavors to come together for a couple of minutes before slowly adding the heavy cream. Let the cream come up to temp, a slow simmer and add the Parmesan cheese. Keep an eye on the sauce so it doesn't boil over. Simmer until your desired thickness. A little more cheese. never hurts either.

I let each person tell me how much sauce on their shrimp and mushroom. Some like a lot, some not. This is a good amount of sauce. I like to serve the mushrooms with a sauteed green like the broccoli rabe above or maybe some roasted green beans with bacon. My family is nuts for pasta, so today we had fresh spinach linguine that just loved the red pepper cream sauce. Another great add is some fresh crumbled bacon on top. We've come this far with cream and butter, might as well add some bacon.

Enjoy.