Avocado and Crab Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

Apple wood chips or 3 drops hickory liquid smoke
2 portabella mushroom tops

MARINADE
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
6 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
3 fresh rosemary sprigs, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. cracked black pepper

STUFFING
1 ripe avocado, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup lump crab meat
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 Tbsp. red bell pepper, finely diced
2 Tbsp. onion, minced

Clean mushroom caps and smoke them over apple wood chips in a smoker for 10 minutes. Or, add 3 drops hickory liquid smoke to the marinade to get a smokey flavor without smoking.

Poke holes in each mushroom cap with a toothpick. Mix marinade ingredients together and pour over mushroom caps in a large non-reactive container.

Refrigerate 12 hours, turning mushrooms once.

Make an incision partway through each mushroom cap to create a pocket, or cut each mushroom cap in half horizontally.

Mix together stuffing ingredients and stuff each mushroom.

Grill or saute mushrooms until soft. Serve hot or cold.

* Large avocados are recommended for this recipe. A large avocado averages about 8 ounces. If using smaller or larger size avocados adjust the quantity accordingly.

Adapted from: the California Avocado Commission
[Dead link: http://www.avocado.org/recipes/printrecipe/12232/letter]