Spinach Mushroom Cheese Folds

While shopping a day before Thanksgiving at the Asian market, I chanced upon these organically grown, beautiful looking, pearly white and earthy brown Beech Mushrooms or Buna Shimeji. I immediately picked a pack of each because I looove cooking with mushrooms. For me mushrooms are meek and cooperative in any dish. They hold on to their texture and flavour whether sautéed, stir fried or souped. With all the immune boosters and antioxidants mushrooms harbor, delicious eating couldn’t get more healthy.

So, coming back to my beech mushrooms, I got them during Thanksgiving hoping to stir fry them for the teriyaki cooking I planned during the long weekend. But, like the many things that we plan during holidays the cooking never happened and these 2 packs sat un-noticed for a whole month. Then while rummaging through the fridge just before my Christmas party I noticed these  balls of  pearls sitting fresh and bright as ever. A whole of thirty days and not a bruise or a wrinkle. I at once decided to use them for my spinach folds instead of the baby bellas I normally use. I like to use mushrooms for my folds and puff fillings since they give good body and texture and don’t  feel gooey like the usual spinach and cheese fillings.

I used bread to wrap the fillings as I had plenty of old bread. You could use puff pastry or pastry shells and instead of frying you could bake them in a pre-heated oven at 400°F for about 20 minutes or until the shells are golden brown.

Ingredients

10 – 15 slices of buttermilk bread with edges trimmed off
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese. (You could also use cream cheeses instead, just fluff it up with a little bit of milk)
10 OZ frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
2 OZ each of brown and white beech mushrooms ( you can use any mushroom of your choice. the earthy ones suit the recipe better)
One medium sized onion finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped baby dill
1/2 tsp pepper
refined oil for frying
salt to taste

Directions

Sauté the chopped onions in a tsp of oil  in a shallow pan  until golden brown

Add in the spinach, mushrooms, baby dill, salt and pepper and continue to sauté until the spinach is cooked.

Put of the flame and mix in the cheese.

soak each slice of bread very briefly in water and gently squeeze the water out. Place the filling at the center and fold the bread into half and seal the edges.

Refrigerate for an hour or two and  when they are set shallow fry them for a minute or two until they turn golden brown on both the sides.

Place the fried folds on a paper towel and gently pat dry the excess oil.

Serve with hot and sour chili sauce.