Directions:

To Prepare Roasted Tomato and Pepper Romesco Sauce:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl, toss the tomatoes, peppers, and garlic cloves with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes or until the skin begins to blister. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 to 10 minutes until they are safe to handle. Remove the skins from the tomatoes and peppers and save them for use with the poached mushrooms. Place the peeled and roasted tomatoes, peppers, and garlic in a blender with the vinegar. Blend until smooth. Keep warm until ready to use.

To Prepare Poached Baby Bella Mushrooms:

Place the mushroom and vegetable skins and trimmings in a small pot with 2 cups of water. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes over low heat to make quick vegetable stock. Add the mushrooms and gently cook them over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove them from the liquid, pat them dry, and place them into a 9” x 13” casserole dish. Keep warm until ready to use or cool quickly, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

To Prepare Lentil and Walnut Stuffed Mushrooms:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Add green onions, garlic, almonds, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, walnuts, breadcrumbs, and olive oil in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix in the cooked lentils. Divide the mixture evenly between the poached mushroom caps, about 3 tablespoons per mushroom. Strain the vegetable stock and pour it around the stuffed mushrooms in the casserole dish. Bake the stuffed mushrooms for 15 minutes until the filling is golden and reaches a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, occasionally basting the mushrooms with vegetable stock to keep them tender. Remove them from the oven and keep warm until ready to use.

To Prepare Arugula Oil:

Bring a small amount of water to a boil. Have a second bowl ready with ice water. Add the arugula to the boiling water and cook quickly for 30 seconds. Remove the arugula and place it into the ice water to stop the cooking.

Gently squeeze out the excess water from the arugula and pat it dry.

Place the arugula in a blender. While the blender is running, slowly add the oil and blend until the oil is bright green. Strain it through a fine sieve, pressing out as much of the oil as possible. Transfer the oil into a covered container or dispenser and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Use the oil within 3 days.

To Assemble Lentil Stuffed Mushroom Plates:

Place about 1/4 cup of roasted tomato and pepper sauce in the center of each plate. Place 3 stuffed mushrooms on each plate on top of the sauce. Drizzle about half a teaspoon of arugula oil onto each plate. Garnish each plate with a sprig of parsley, and enjoy immediately!

Chef Tips:

– Save the pepper and tomato peels, garlic peels, white parts of the green onion, mushroom stems, and mushroom gills. You will use them to make the vegetable broth.

– The method used to cook the arugula is known as blanching, and it is a great way to soften vegetables while keeping most of the color, vitamins, and minerals intact.