Pork and Chestnut Stuffed Mushrooms

I forgot to take a photo of these before I boxed them up for the week so I'll try and remember to get one next time, and for now you'll just have to trust me that they look delicious!

Ingredients 

6 Breakfast or Portabello Mushrooms, the bigger the better

1 pack sausages - any type will do, I got some low fat pork ones, I tend to avoid heavily flavoured ones since we're going to add our own flavours

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons garlic paste or finely chopped garlic

1 vacuum pack of chestnuts

Olive oil or butter, fry light at a push but it's not the same! 

Optional - breadcrumbs and cheese to top

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and pop them in a roasting tin. 

2. Drizzle a little oil or butter over the mushrooms and sprinkle some dried thyme over each one. 

3. Pop the mushrooms in the oven for about 10 minutes while you prep the stuffing. 

4. Cut the cases off the sausages and put the meat in a bowl. 

5. Roughly chop the chestnuts, you can make them as chunky or as fine as you prefer, I normally make them about the size of my little fingernail so they have a little bite. 

6. Add chestnuts, garlic paste, salt and pepper to the sausage meat and mix it until it's roughly evenly distributed. You can add other herbs or spices at this point if you fancy them, or a teaspoon of sugar to add a little caramelisation when they cook. 

7. Scoop the stuffing into the mushrooms and if you're using them, sprinkle the breadcrumbs and/or cheese on top. 

8. Pop them in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the tops are brown.