Crab Stuffed Mushrooms over Fresh Summer Corn Puree
I don’t know about you but I’ve kind of got a weakness for stuffed mushrooms. And I don’t care what they are stuffed with I tell myself they are healthy because it’s basically just a veggie. My mind skips right over that part about the cream cheese or cheddar or bacon and settles firmly on little bites of veggie that taste ah-mazing.
I love just simple parmesan and herb stuffed mushrooms or the classic sausage with cream cheese. But I’m always looking to up my game in the kitchen and put my own little twist on a classic so I decided to pair fresh corn and crab in this plated version. It’s summertime and corn is plentiful and inexpensive and sweet and delicious. Basically it checks all the boxes of cooking with fresh and seasonal ingredients. And of course, it goes SOOO well with crab. I figured by pureeing it and placing the stuffed mushroom on top you are creating a sauce for the dish with an elegant presentation. To counter balance the sweetness of the corn I drizzled a little bit of habanero olive oil on top but you can use chili oil, too.
For the crab I used lump crab. This recipe would also be amazing with sweet Dungeness or blue crab so see what you can find at your local store. The sauce is simple and has a good bit of lemon in it for the purpose of some acid to complement the crab as well a the corn. I top the mushroom with a little extra just plain crab and the prosciutto to make sure those flavors really come through. And I go very lightly on the breadcrumbs. You don’t want to overdress the crab mixture and then lose the flavor of crab. It’s a fine line people. So play with this recipe until it becomes one of your go-to dishes for entertaining….
Ingredients for Crab Stuffed Mushrooms and Corn Puree
All the good stuff needed to make crab stuffed mushrooms over fresh corn puree
Step by Step
Make the Corn Puree
In a large pot add the corn, shallot bulb, garlic, and bay leaf with some salt and enough water to just cover the corn. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Approximately 12-18 minutes.
Boil fresh corn, shallot, garlic and bay leaf
Discard bay leaf but keep the cooking liquid and the shallot and garlic. You’ll use those to add some flavor to the puree. Remove the corn to a cutting board and let cool slightly.
Cooked fresh corn
Cut the kernels from the cob. You can do this a number of ways but I find the way that makes the least amount of mess is to cut down towards the cutting board along the length of the cob.
Cut the corn off the cob
Add all the kernels and the reserved shallot and garlic to a blender. Then add in 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and the salt.
Corn and shallot and garlic in the blender
Start on low and then incrementally increase speed to high until mixture is a smooth consistency.
Puree corn mixture
If desired, pour into a bowl over a fine mesh sieve and press down with a spatula. Discard any remnants of solids.
Strain corn puree
Set corn mixture aside until ready to serve. Gently reheat before serving.
*Corn has a lot of water in it so it will start to break down and become runny if made a day ahead. Recommended to make on the same day as serving.
Finished corn puree
Clean the mushrooms
Preheat the oven to 375 and prepare an oven proof baking dish by rubbing with butter or oil. Mushrooms are very porous so you don’t want to run them under water to clean them. They will get water logged and soggy.
Mushrooms
Remove the stem.
De-stemming mushrooms
With a damp paper towel just wipe down each mushroom to remove any dirt.
Wiping down mushrooms with damp paper towel
Then, if you want, you can use a small spoon to scoop out some of the gills and make more room in the mushroom ‘cup’ for crab. Just be careful as they are delicate and tend to split apart easily. You can skip this step, too.
Scoop out inside gills
Mushrooms are now ready to be stuffed!
Cleaned mushrooms
Crisp the prosciutto
In a skillet set over medium heat add a little oil and crisp the prosciutto. Remove and set aside. I made a few extra slices here for snacking:)
Crisped Prosciutto
Fill the Mushrooms
In a medium bowl whisk the mayo, spicy mayo together as the start of the base.
Whisk mixture for crab
Then add in the zest of 1 lemon and the juice.
Zesting lemon
Then the melted butter.
Melted Butter
Whisk again and then gently fold in 1 cup of the lump crab meat (reserving some extra crab to put on top). Don’t whisk, just gently fold with your hands or a rubber spatula.
Fresh crab
Evenly distribute the crab mixture into each of the mushrooms. You may have a little left over if your mushrooms are smaller but mine made exactly 9 medium mushrooms (not small white button mushrooms).
Spoon crab mixture into mushrooms
stuffed mushrooms
Then top each one with a little extra just plain crab meat, crumbled prosciutto or bacon, and a few breadcrumbs. Bake until tender and breadcrumbs are starting to brown. Approximately 18-22 minutes. For extra crisp topping drizzle a little oil over the top and place under the broiler for the last 30-40 seconds (watching carefully).
Stuffed mushrooms with final toppings – ready to bake
To assemble reheat the corn puree and place a generous amount on each plate. I did have some leftover corn puree but it was yummy on its own. Place a warm mushroom on top, drizzle with chili oil or habanero oil and fresh chives and enjoy!
Plated stuffed crab mushrooms over corn puree
The final presentation
Ingredients
- Corn Puree
- 3 ears fresh corn, shucked (can substitute 2 1/4 cups frozen corn if needed)
- 1 whole clove garlic, peeled
- 1 whole shallot bulb, outer skin removed
- 1 bay leaf
- 2-3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Crab Stuffed Mushroom
- 9 medium cremini or baby bella mushrooms (large enough to stuff)
- 1 slice of prosciutto or 2 pieces of bacon
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons spicy mayo (Sir Kensington's Chipotle mayo or sriracha mayo)
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup lump crab meat plus a little extra
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Chives or garnish
- Habanero Olive Oil or Chili Oil for garnish (optional)
Method
- Start by making the corn puree. In a large pot just cover the corn with water and add the whole clove of garlic, whole (peeled) shallot bulb and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and cook until the corn is tender (approximately 12-18 minutes). Discard bay leaf but keep the shallot, garlic and cooking liquid.
- Remove the corn to a cutting board and let cool slightly. Then cut the kernels from the cob. Place the corn, shallot, garlic, butter and salt in a blender with 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and start on low and increase speed to high until mixture is smooth. Strain if desired through a fine mesh sieve and set aside.
- Next butter an oven proof baking dish and preheat the oven to 375. Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel and remove the stems. If preferred very gently scoop out a little more of the inside of the mushroom to make room for more crab mixture (optional).
- Crisp the prosciutto with a little olive oil in a skillet and set aside (or crisp bacon if using instead).
- In a medium bowl combine the regular mayo, spicy mayo, zest and juice of 1 lemon, salt and melted butter and whisk to combine. Gently fold in the cup of fresh lump crab reserving a little extra crab that doesn't go in the seasoning.
- Evenly distribute the crab mixture using a small spoon to fill each mushroom. Top with some of the extra fresh crab and then sprinkle crumbled prosciutto or bacon on top of each cap. Follow with a some panko bread crumbs and bake for 18-22 min. For an extra crispy top drizzle a tiny bit of oil on top of each mushroom and place under the broiler for the last 30 seconds but be careful to watch them.
- To assemble rewarm the corn puree and place a generous amount on each plate, top with a mushroom and sprinkle with fresh chives and drizzle with chili oil or habanero oil.
