It was only a few years ago that I really started to enjoy portobello mushrooms, rather mushrooms in general. I owe it all to my cousin Chris who cooked up some tasty portobello burgers on a beautiful night in L.A. Maybe it was the scene, maybe it was the charcoal BBQ, but all that matters is that night got me hooked. Since then, I have been experimenting with different recipes that involve mushrooms and this one seems to be the winner so far! I guess when you combine portobello and truffle oil, it’s guaranteed to be a thing of beauty.

This recipe involves a few elements.  You’ll need to cook the orzo first, then create the stuffing for the mushrooms, then bake everything together. I highly recommend using a food processor for this recipe, otherwise you can dice everything (garlic and onions) and

chop the mushroom ‘guts’. For me, the beauty of a food processor is that it takes out the daunting parts of cooking. I can just throw everything into a one stop shop and it’s done within seconds. You can add whatever spices or ingredients you think would blend well. I am a pasta lover, so that was a pretty easy decision, and I love garlic and truffle oil, so I added a few other elements to tie everything together. Romano/Pecorino cheese mixed with garlic and mushroom salt is a great way to blend everything into a salty, cheesy mixture. The truffle oil is the cherry on top.

Mushrooms in general are pretty hard to pair with wine because of the umami taste. We paired this beautiful dinner with the Mirassou Pinot Noir from California. It was delectable. A nice light red wine for a heavy dish with an array of flavours at play was a good call.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups of orzo, 1/4 cup romano cheese, 6 portobello mushrooms, 1/4 cup diced red onion, 1 tsp mushroom salt, 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped), 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp truffle oil (1 tsp for drizzling at the end).

Instructions: preheat the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is heating, boil water and cook the orzo. Scoop the ‘guts’ out of the portobello mushrooms and add them into a food processor. Add the garlic, red onion, garlic powder, romano cheese, mushroom salt and 1 tsp of the truffle oil to the food processor. Blend these ingredients until a scoopable mixture forms. Drain the orzo and combine it with the mixture from the food processor. Scoop that mixture into the portobello shells. Place the dish in the oven for 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutesand top with shredded romano and a truffle oil drizzle.