A meal without meat can still be hearty. With a little creativity and know-how it can be decadent and health-conscious too!
As I continue my journey to eat less meat, I’m always looking for meals that may be glamorous enough to serve for a get-together or a cozy dinner at home for two. I went to my favorite local produce stand/gourmet market and got my meander on.
Stop the press, what is that? Oh yes. Giant portobellos.
I did a little hop and grabbed the package. Now for the fun part, how to prepare them? I try to find ways to keep my food cost down and taste levels up. I knew I had brown rice, green onions and cabbage at home. This would make a good start.
Once home, here’s what happened:
- I prepared the brown rice according the the package directions.
- I pre-heated the oven to 375.
- While the rice cooked I chopped 2 shallots, 1 clove of garlic, two stalks of baby vidalia onions (scallions would be just as good) and shredded about a 1 c. of cabbage
- Then I cleaned the underside of the mushrooms (package of 2). Do this gently with a spoon (I rip open presents and anything with packaging like a banshee. If you are like me you need this warning). Set aside.
- Deciding I was in the mood for more Italian than Asian flavors, I grabbed balsamic (Lucini, Gran Riserva aged 10 years), olive oil, sea salt, pepper and nutmeg
- Once the rice was cooked I placed a skillet on medium heat with 1 T (or so) of olive oil
- Added the garlic and cooked it until fragrant (30-35 seconds) then added the other ingredients and the rice (mix for 2 minutes)
- Good quality balsamic goes a long way so you don’t need much more than 1 T.
- I added the salt pepper and 1/2 t of nutmeg (you can use a bit more or less-depending upon the flavor you’d like)
- After cooking for about another minute I took the stuffing mixture off the heat
- Spoon the mixture into the mushrooms- you’ll have extra (toss it with some greens for lunch the next day!)
- Don’t over-stuff the mushroom cap. The mushroom shrinks while in the oven.
- I sprinkled 1 T of shredded asiago cheese on top (I was feeling fancy) it’s 20 extra calories if you do. If you’re vegan- skip this
- Place the mushrooms on a pan and cook for 12 minutes or until the cheese melts
Then enjoy- because these bad boys are yummy.