Grilled Portabella Mushroom Caps
Grilled portabella mushroom caps recipe. A delicious and satisfying meal.
Grilled portabella mushroom caps recipe. A delicious and satisfying meal.
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- e portabello mushrooms (get the biggest ones you c
- 12 oz. mild or hot italian sausage (use turkey italian sa
- 1-2 t olive oil (for browning sausage and onions and bru
- 1 tsp. minced fresh garlic (or use chopped garlic from a
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce (i used garden tomato sauce from my f just freeze the rest.)
- pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 8 oz. coarsely chopped spinach leaves
- 2 t chopped fresh basil (probably optional but recommended)
- 2 t chopped fresh parsley (probably optional but recommended)
- 1/2 cup grated mozzarella plus 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top (i used low-fat mozzarella)
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (0g)
- Sodium 0 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Heat a small amount of olive oil in heavy frying pan, then crumble Italian sausage into pan and cook about 5 minutes, breaking apart with back of the turner as it cooks. When sausage is well-browned, remove to bowl.
- If needed, add a bit more olive oil, then saute onions until they're starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and continue cooking until onions are starting to brown, a few minutes more. Add Italian sausage back into pan, then add red pepper flakes and tomato sauce and simmer 2-3 minutes while you chop the spinach.
- Add chopped spinach and let it wilt and cook down, stirring so it's evenly distributed in the sausage/onion mixture. Turn off heat and stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella, chopped basil and parsley.
- Remove stems from mushrooms caps, being careful not to break them. Scrape out brown gills from inside mushrooms if desired, then brush both sides of mushrooms with olive oil. Put mushrooms on grill, inside facing down, and cook about 4 minutes, until mushroom is slightly browned and starting to soften.
- Remove mushrooms from the grill. (I put them on a wooden cutting board.) Carefully stuff the inside of each mushroom with sausage/spinach/cheese mixture, then top each mushroom with about 2 T grated mozzarella.
- Carefully put mushrooms back on grill, stuffing facing up of course! Cover grill and cook about 5 minutes, checking often and removing from grill when mushrooms are cooked through, and cheese is melted and starting to brown, and stuffing mixture is hot. Serve immediately.
Stuffed portabella caps are often compared to stuffed bell peppers, yet mushrooms present entirely different structural challenges on a hot grate. Grilling large fungi requires careful management of moisture and heat to prevent soggy caps or burnt bottoms. ### Managing the Heat and Grate Direct high heat on a gas or charcoal grill can incinerate mushroom caps before the interior softens. Scrape the dark gills out with a spoon prior to oiling; leaving them in traps excess moisture and muddying the flavors. Brush olive oil sparingly on both sides. Place caps cap-side down for four minutes until char marks form, then remove them to a cutting board before stuffing. Returning the stuffed caps to the grill requires indirect heat or a covered grill held under 400 degrees Fahrenheit for five minutes to melt the cheese without carbonizing the underside. ### Swapping Proteins and Cheeses Italian sausage provides substantial fat and seasoning, but ground turkey or chicken sausage can be substituted pound-for-pound if preferred. Low-fat mozzarella melts differently than whole-milk varieties, releasing less moisture during the final five-minute covered melt. Coarsely chop the spinach to eight ounces by weight rather than volume to ensure it incorporates evenly into the meat mixture without pooling liquid inside the cavity.
