Fried mushrooms, filled with Serrano ham
(Champiñones rellenos de jamón.
Ingredients: 7 oz. of mushrooms; 3 oz. of 4 oz.
of Serrano ham, finely chopped; 1 garlic clove,
finely chopped; 1 onion, finely chopped; 1/2 l of
béchamel sauce; 4-5 tbsp of breadcrumbs, finely
ground.
Preparation: Remove the mushroom stalks, and
sauté the caps and the garlic in olive oil.
For the filling: Sauté the onion, add the Serrano
ham, stir and add the béchamel sauce to form an
homogeneous mixture. Stuff the mushrooms with
this mixture, and use the rest of the sauce to
dredge the stuffed mushroom caps in it. Place
now the mushrooms in the fridge so the
béchamel sauce get thicker and harder. Next,
dredge the pieces in the breadcrumbs and deepfry in oil. Serve before they cool down.
There are numerous species of mushrooms, most of them are edible, and their low amount of calories has made of them a food common in slimming diets, a
non negligible percentage of their composition provides very important nutrients for our health. Mushrooms are a good source of B vitamins, which are
necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system. They also provide zinc and selenium, and are included in the diet of vegetarians and people under
a weight-loss diet or with cholesterol problems: it's a non-animal food (it is not a vegetable either, contrary to what many people think), with no fat, hippocaloric and easy to digest. Zinc is needed for healthy hair and nails; besides the lack of zinc leads to problems in the formation and functioning of the
reproductive system, hence its reputation as an aphrodisiac food. Selenium is a trace element with antioxidant properties that helps preventing degenerative
diseases and tumors, and it also has an excellent impact on the health of skin, hair and nails.