Meatless Stuffed Mushrooms

These tasty stuffed mushrooms are an original recipe I have come up with over the years. They are meatless and they are also gluten-free and lactose-free. The recipe uses Parmesan cheese but Parmesan cheese is a hard cheese which is tolerable by most people even with lactose sensitivity. Whenever I make these there are never any left overs so I think they're pretty good.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 16 caps

Ingredients

• 16  medium white mushrooms
• 3⁄4 cup garbanzo beans
• 3⁄4 cup  grated parmesan cheese
• 1⁄2 liter  sweet  vidalia onion, chopped
• 1  tablespoon basil
• 1  tablespoon margarine
• 1⁄2 cup cornmeal
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  garlic clove, minced
•  salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Clean the mushrooms and separate the caps from the stems, keeping the stems to use later.
3. Slice off a thin piece across each cap's inside so the mushroom's opening becomes wider and flatter. Also save these mushroom scraps.
4. Place your mushroom caps, open-side-up, on a large cookie sheet or non-stick pan (pizza pans work nicely).
5. In a food processor, combine garbanzo beans, mushroom pieces and onion. Chop them into a fine, nearly paste-like consistency.
6. In a skillet, saute garlic in margarine, then place the processed combination in the pan and cook over medium-high heat.
7. Stir in oil, corn meal, basil, parmesan cheese and salt.
8. Keep mixing well as you continue to cook the ingredients together for about 2-3 minutes.
9. Allow the stuffing to sit in the pan and cook for a few minutes, browning and crusting slightly. Turn, and brown the other side.
10. After approximately 7-8 minutes, the stuffing is ready to be scooped into the mushroom caps. (Spritzing the mushroom caps with cooking oil is recommended.).
11. Using a normal kitchen spoon, scoop generous mounds of the stuffing into each cap, pressing firmly to create packed mounds on each cap. Any leftover stuffing can be sprinkled around the caps.
12. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.