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. Its summertime and corn are 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 counterbalance the sweetness of the corn I drizzled a little bit of habanero olive oil on top but you can use chili oil, too. If you want to try this dish out but you have never had crab before, you may want to take a trip to a seafood restaurant like https://crabhouse39.com/ and see what the fuss is about, you will then have a new appreciation for this delicious meal.

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