PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM
CAPS were made for stuffi ng. Why?
For starters, their hefty size and
circular shape make a perfect “dish”
to hold stuffi ng. Plus, they have a
brawny, earthy fl avor that can stand up
to potent stuffi ng ingredients, making
the dish a potential tastebud-rocking
powerhouse. I say “potential,” though,
because most stuff ed portobellos I’ve
had have been bland, spongy, and sad.
Determined to break the curse, I set
out to create a recipe for truly memo-
rable stuff ed portobello mushroom
caps. I began by preparing a handful
of promising recipes for my tasters.
The recipes called for stuffi ng the caps
with various combinations of sautéed
vegetables, meats, cheese, and beans.
A few literally fell fl at, emerging from
the oven as thin, defl ated disks. But
one recipe gave me hope; it called
for marinating and roasting the caps
before stuffi ng them, which resulted in
moist and tender ’shrooms.
I got busy developing my own
version. In addition to stemming the
mushrooms, I found that scraping out
the dark brown gills from the under-
side of each cap made them taste much
cleaner. Moving on to the marinade, I
tested various ingredients and landed
on a simple combination of olive oil
and red wine vinegar. Letting the
mushroom caps soak in the vinaigrette
in a zipper-lock bag was effi cient and
easy; 30 minutes to 1 hour imparted
big fl avor. A 20-minute stint in a hot
oven drove off excess moisture and
cooked the mushrooms through,
ensuring that they were tender and
moist—not spongy or soggy.
I wanted to fi ll these caps with a
vegetarian-friendly mixture, so for a
rich, creamy base, I used tangy fresh
goat cheese. For bulk and fl avor, I
tested spinach, kale, and Swiss chard;
we preferred the milder fl avor and
tender texture of sautéed Swiss chard.
Toasted Parmesan bread crumbs made
for an irresistibly crunchy topping.
Once I’d fi lled the caps and topped
them with the crumbs, they needed
only a few more minutes in the oven to
heat through. I let the mushrooms cool
slightly and called my team to taste.
Happy people all around.
The caps are
filled with Swiss
chard, garlic, goat
cheese, and basil
and topped with a
crunchy mixture of
Parmesan cheese
and panko.Our easy technique transforms what is typically
a tired, squishy vegetarian entrée into a tender,
fl avor-packed dish anyone would love to eat.
by Ashley Moore
Scrape Out the Gills
Using a spoon to gently scrape the dark
gills from the underside of each por-
tobello cap not only makes for cleaner
mushroom fl avor but also improves the
roasted mushrooms’ texture.Prepping the Mushrooms
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STUFFED PORTOBELLO
MUSHROOMS Serves 4
Use a spoon to remove the gills from
the mushroom caps.1⁄2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin
olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
4 portobello mushroom caps (4 to
5 inches in diameter), gills removed
1⁄2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 ounce Parmesan cheese,
grated (1⁄2 cup)
10 ounces Swiss chard, stems
and leaves cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
1⁄8 teaspoon red pepper fl akes
4 ounces goat cheese, softened
1⁄2 cup torn fresh basil leaves
11⁄2 teaspoons grated lemon zest- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle
and lower-middle positions and heat
oven to 475 degrees. Combine 6 table-
spoons oil, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt,
and ½ teaspoon pepper in 1-gallon
zipper-lock bag. Add mushrooms, seal
bag, turn to coat, and let sit at room
temperature for at least 30 minutes or
up to 1 hour. - Line rimmed baking sheet with
parchment paper. Arrange mushrooms
gill side down on prepared sheet.
Roast on lower rack until tender, about
20 minutes. - Combine panko and 2 tablespoons
oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet and cook
over medium heat, stirring frequently,
until golden brown, about 5 minutes;
transfer to bowl and stir in Parmesan.
Wipe skillet clean with paper towels. - Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in
now-empty skillet over medium-high
heat until shimmering. Add chard and
¼ teaspoon salt and cook until wilted
and liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 min-
utes. Stir in garlic and pepper fl akes
and cook until fragrant, about 30 sec-
onds. Off heat, stir in goat cheese,
basil, and lemon zest. - Flip mushrooms gill side up
and distribute fi lling evenly among
mushrooms. Sprinkle panko mixture
evenly over top. Bake on upper rack
until topping is golden brown, about
4 minutes. Serve.
Roast for 20 Minutes
Roasting the stemmed, gilled, and mari-
nated mushroom caps before stuffi ng and
heating them through not only shrinks
them and darkens their color but also
helps concentrate their fl avor.FEBRUARY/MARCH 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 19