Stuffed Italian Mushrooms

Go meatless! Be aware that portobello mushrooms are about the same cost of beef but they are lower in calories. Choose them carefully - if they have a damaged rim they will leak the filling.

Ingredients

Preparation

  • 4 large portobello mushrooms, washed and dried
  • 4 T olive oil
  • Marinara sauce, about a cup
  • 1 1/2 C ricotta cheese OR small curd cottage cheese (sieved to remove excess moisture)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 C fresh spinach, chopped
  • 1/2 C fresh basil, chopped*
  • 1 C mozzarella cheese
  • about 1/2 t S & several grinds of P




*See below for alternate ingredients


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If baking, line a pan with parchment paper to help absorb water that is released from the mushrooms. If grilling, use a perforated grill dish (photo below). Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms carefully and chop into a a separate large bowl. Take a spoon and carefully scrape the brown gills from the mushrooms. Rinse and lay aside to dry. You can gently mop up the moisture with a paper towel. Brush all over the mushrooms with the olive oil to prevent sticking to the pan.

Spoon the marinara sauce into the mushrooms. The bottoms should be totally covered.

Mix together all the remaining ingredients to the bowl with the mushroom stems except for the cheese. Fill the mushrooms. Top with the cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and browned slightly. Grill time will vary - cover and check periodically.

*Unless you grow fresh basil, your options are limited for its replacement. Dried Italian seasonings don't have enough cooking time to soften substantially. I prefer to use a homemade pesto of basil and Parmesan cheese for the chopped basil and seasonings but that's also not an option for many. If you don't have access to fresh basil or pesto, replace the basil with another half cup of the spinach.

I used Barilla's Very Gusto marinara. It's quite flavorful. This recipe only used about a 1/4 of the jar.

There's no right or wrong to the cheeses. Use any soft cheese that you like or an Italian cheese blend. Fresh mozzarella, found in specialty cheeses, is terrifically chewy and stringy.

These freeze well. Wrap them individually in parchment paper first and then foil. Unwrap and bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees or grill at a lower heat for a longer period.