Spam’shrooms En Croute

This was the heavy hitter at the State Fair of Texas Spam cook-off last year. It seems that not a lot of folks will admit to eating Spam but there are apparently enough of us to warrant a cook-off. ;-) But then, Texans will do most anything if competition is involved.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 18
• Yields: 36 appetizers

Ingredients

• 1  cup  shredded  Italian cheese blend, divided use
• 1 (14 ounce) can  Spam, sliced into 1/2 chunks
• 1⁄2 cup sun-dried tomato, in oil
• 1⁄2 cup  diced red onion
• 3  dozen  uniform mushrooms, about 1 1/2 in diameter
• 20  sheets phyllo pastry, one box of frozen dough, thawed
• 1⁄2 cup  melted butter
• 1  beaten egg
• 2  tablespoons water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. In the bowl of a food processor or mixer, combine ½ cup of the cheese, Spam chunks and sun-dried tomatoes. Pulse or mix until nearly smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in the remainder of the cheese and the red onion.
3. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. With a small spoon, scrape out inside of each mushroom to make the cavity bigger.
4. Stuff each mushroom with about 1 teaspoon of the Spam mixture. Be careful not to overstuff.
5. Carefully lay 4 sheets of phyllo dough on top of one another, brushing every other one with melted butter.
6. Cut phyllo lengthwise down the center, then cut each half into 3 pieces to make 6 rectangles.
7. Place a mushroom, Spam side up, in the center of each square. Lift the sides of the pastry up over mushrooms to resemble small bundles. Form a neck by pinching the edges together to seal. Repeat same process with the rest of the mushrooms.
8. Place bundles on a lightly greased baking sheet.
9. Mix the egg with water to make a wash & lightly brush pastry.
10. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.