Shiitake to warabi no buriichiizu-yaki / shiitake and bracken with brie cheese

Wow! A great little appetizer that really is something different. Goes well with both Western and Asian dishes.

3 shiitake: 
54 calories; 3.0 g protein; 4.1 g fat; 1.6 g carbohydrate; 0.3 g net carbs; 74 mg sodium; 11 mg cholesterol; 1.3 g fiber



<Ingredients>

(Serves 4; 3 shiitake each)

12 small shiitake mushrooms (90 g after stems removed)
12 warabi bracken heads (prepped; 46 g in photo)
Approx. 50 g brie cheese (or camembert cheese; see Notes for some nutritional differences)
A few parsley leaves
1 taka no tsume red chili pepper (slices in photo)
1 tsp olive oil (to saute warabi; not in photo)
Flour (to dust shiitake; not in photo)


<Directions>
1.

Remove stems of shiitake (save them for another use).

Dust back of umbrella  with flour, and place in oven-safe dish.

2.
Cut warabi into 3-4 cm, as necessary. Chop parsley leaves.


3.

In a frying pan, heat olive oil, add taka no tsume and warabi, and saute for 1-2 minutes.

4.

Put warabi and taka no tsume on shiitake.

Place a thin (3mm) slice of brie and parsley.

5.

Bake or broil until brie melts.
Serve hot.

<Notes>

• Shiitake with thinner umbrellas work better for this recipe, as they cook faster.
• This can probably be cooked in a covered frying pan (lined with parchment paper for easy cleaning).
• You do not need to coat your baking dish with oil, as fat content of cheese melts and cooks shiitake at the same time.
• Brie and camembert taste very similar. However, sodium content is lower with brie, whereas camembert has less fat, fewer calories and lower cholesterol. Choose the one that better matches your dietary needs.
• Whole recipe: 215 calories; 12.1 g protein; 16.2 g fat; 6.4 g carbohydrate; 0.3 g net carbs;  294 mg sodium; 43 mg cholesterol; 5.1 g fiber
  1 shiitake: 18 calories; 1.0 g protein; 1.4 g fat; 0.5 g carbohydrate; 0.1 g net carbs; 25 mg sodium; 4 mg cholesterol; 0.4 g fiber