BACON WRAPPED BLUE CHEESE FILLED MUSHROOMS

Blue Vein cheeses also called Blue cheese is a generic term used to describe cheese produced with cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk and ripened with cultures of the mold Penicillium. The final product is characterized by green, grey, blue or black veins or spots of mold throughout the body. These veins are created during the production stage when cheese is 'spiked' with stainless steel rods to let oxygen circulate and encourage the growth of the mold. This process also softens the texture and develops the distinctive blue flavor. 

The origin of Blue cheese has an interesting story. It is thought to have been invented by accident when a drunken cheese maker left behind a half-eaten loaf of bread in moist cheese caves. When he returned back, he discovered that the mold covering the bread had transformed it into a blue cheese.

Serves 20
30 minutes


Ingredients

• 20 fresh mushrooms, stems removed
• 450 g blue cheese
• 450 g bacon, cut in half
• 20 toothpicks

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.
2. Stuff the mushroom caps with the blue cheese.
3. Wrap each mushroom with a half-slice of bacon, and secure with a toothpick.
4. Place on a baking sheet, then bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bacon is cooked through.