STUFFED WITH NOT "MUSHROOM" LEFT - - - TESCO FINEST STUFFED MUSHROOMS (Tesco Finest Range)

Member Name: Fantasybeliever

Product:	Tesco Finest Range
Date:	22/09/05 (424 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quicky, easy and fuss free. Tasty if you like mushrooms

Disadvantages: A little on the expensive side

I’ve just finished eating a very lazy, but very delicious Sunday dinner. Lazy because – shock horror, it consisted mainly of chilled meals – and delicious because it came from the Tesco Finest range. The meal consisted of stuffed mushroom and lamb shanks (both Tesco Finest) and creamy mashed potatoes (all my own work!). The product I’m reviewing here is the stuffed mushroom.

Packaged in the traditionally classic looking Tesco Finest boxes of black and silver, the packaging itself suggests quality. Why I’m not sure, but it does look classy! There is a mouth watering picture of the product itself on the left side of the box and it is very authentic to what you find when you open the box.

These are described as

“2 Large Portobello mushrooms stuffed with creamy spinach, celery, chopped mushrooms and cheese and topped with a golden crispy crumb.”

On opening the box you find two large stuffed mushrooms nestling in a plastic tray. My only criticism of this product is that generally you get two of considerably different sizes. Today for example one was fairly flat but measured about 4 inches in diameter whilst the other was slightly deeper but only about 3 inches in diameter. If you’re going to eat both yourself then that might be OK, but if you’re both lovers of this product, you could be fighting over who’s going to get the lion’s share. Of course, I give the bigger one to hubby to ease my own conscience at the calorific content!

Now presumably you wouldn’t be tempted to buy these if you weren’t a lover of mushrooms, but a lover of mushrooms is what you have to be as these are incredibly strong tasting. Cooking at Gas Mark 5 is recommended; maybe slightly less if you have a fan assisted oven. However, I always cook them for about 25 minutes because I do like the crispy crumb on the top of the mushrooms to be crispy. I find that the crispy crumb complements the slight sliminess of the mushroom and cheese filling that combines together well to produce a divine double taste and texture sensation on the taste buds.

The mushroom taste is strong and earthy as one might expect and the cheese and spinach content lend a bitter edge to the overall taste. That might not sound too inviting but I guess it depends on personal taste. We combined it with lamb shanks in a rosemary and garlic sauce with parsnip and carrot and found that the sweetness of the rosemary and parsnip created the perfect balance. Add to that the fact that these are very filling and could probably stand alone as a meal in their own right should you be so inclined.

The box contains 260g of product and the calorific content of 100g is 172kcal. By my rough arithmetic that means that your average mushroom contains a whopping 240-250 kcals. If eating this as a meal alone that’s probably not too bad but if you’re adding it to something else then it starts to have significant impact!

The ingredients contain mushroom, spinach, double cream, onion, butter, celery (! I hate celery!), cheese and breadcrumbs. The product does contain a warming that it may contain traces of sesame seeds and nuts, as it has been made in a factory that uses such products, so avoid if you have a nut allergy.

In conclusion, my overall opinion is that these stuffed mushrooms are delicious. I don’t buy ready meals that frequently, but this will definitely stay a firm favourite of mine. At £3.11 for two of the little beggars, the price is quite steep, but I am convinced that it is value for money based on how long it would take me to create such a culinary delight! To mushroom lovers out there, I’d say give them a try, you won’t be disappointed.

And I’m not going to feel guilty about sitting here feeling like a stuffed pig since a single piece of chocolate hasn’t passed my lips … this was originally written in Easter this year, so I was very proud of that fact!

© Christina ;-) x

Summary: Tasty, indulgent, decadent and just downright delicious.