Hal Peterson

Mushrooms Roasted with Pine Nuts works well as a vegetable side dish,
especially in a fall or winter menu such as Polenta Gnocchi with
Gorgonzola and Roasted Pepper Sauce.  They are also very good served
as an antipasto.

Serves 6 as a side dish.

	18 large mushrooms
	1/3 cup olive oil
	juice of 1/2 lemon

	2 large garlic cloves, minced
	1/3 cup pine nuts
	1/3 cup bread crumbs (whole wheat or Italian bread
	1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
	freshly ground black pepper to taste
	salt to taste

Wipe the mushrooms clean if necessary.  Gently pull the stems out of
the caps and set them aside.  Coat a 10-inch pie plate or some other
shallow bake-and-serve dish with some of the olive oil.  Dip the
mushroom caps into the lemon juice and place them stem side up, snugly
fit together in the dish.

Dice the mushroom stems.  Saute them in the rest of the olive oil
along with the garlic, until the garlic turns golden.  Stir in the
pine nuts and the bread crumbs.  Add the red pepper flakes, plenty of
black pepper and salt to taste.  Remove from the heat.

Spoon the sauteed mixture into the mushroom caps, sprinkling any extra
on top.  Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve
hot.

Note:  This dish can be prepared ahead, covered with plastic wrap, and
refrigerated until baking time.

Note from jlf:  If prepared ahead of time, save some bread crumbs
to sprinkle on top at the last minute before baking.