Stuffed Tarragon Mushrooms

Summer calls for salads, frosty drinks and fruit, but sometimes the body craves grilled cheese and protein, no matter the heat outside. These are easy-to-make, delicious stuffed mushrooms, with a couple of unique touches and the intense flavor of tarragon.

Craving melted cheese? Here is your chance...

What you need:
15 medium baby bella mushrooms with stems
1/6 large white onion
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
1-2 slices prosciutto
0.5 lb grated cheese (e.g. 0.2 lb swiss and 0.3 lb havarti)
leaves from 3 large twigs of tarragon (about 3 loose Tbsp when chopped)
salt to taste
2 Tbsp oil

How to do it:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash the mushrooms and remove the stems.

Finely chop the stems and the onion. Saute in olive oil on medium heat until golden brown. Let cool.

In a bowl, combine the cooled sauteed mushroom stems, cheese, chopped tarragon, black and white pepper, salt. I recommend oversalting the filling a little, because mushrooms will absorb some of the salt.

Lay a little shred of prosciutto into each mushroom, and densely pack the cheese filling over it. I assure you: you can fit all the cheese into the mushrooms.

Arrange the mushrooms on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Switch the oven to broil and remove the mushrooms as soon as the cheese has a light golden crust.

Serve and eat quickly, while hot!

Notes:
Prosciutto is, of course, optional, but it adds a lot of flavor, so unless you are vegetarian, I recommend it.

If you expect guests, the mushrooms can be prepared ahead of time, and just popped into the oven when the guests arrive (or a little before).