Portobello Mushroom

The large portobello mushroom makes a natural saucerlike container for tasty fillings. For modest appetites, one amply stuffed big mushroom will make a satisfying lunch or supper dish, but if you’re really hungry, make two.

Every Christmas, Crystal’s family (the Cook side) gets together for a holiday party at her Aunt Mary Ann’s. Since the family is so large, it’s the one time of year that everyone makes the effort to be there to visit with one another. Everyone brings a dish for the buffet, and we all eat like kings and queens. Crystal’s Aunt Sonja is known as one of the family’s best cooks. Always aiming to impress her guests, she relies on this side dish to do just that. And if you ever thought asparagus was boring, you’ll change your mind once you taste it all dolled up with shallots, artichokes, and baby portobella mushrooms. It’s a real showstopper.

Portobello mushrooms are so meaty and flavorful that many of my vegetarian friends prepare and eat them the way I do steak—throwing them on the grill and making a main course of them. For my part, I’ll take the steak and the portobellos, ideally prepared the way they are here: cooked simply so that their natural qualities can shine.

Up to a day before baking, Tortilla Melts can be assembled, wrapped in foil, and refrigerated. Bake in the foil for about 15 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for about 5 minutes more for the tortillas to crisp. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to a week and reheat well.

With tortellini in the freezer and dried mushrooms and a carton of broth in your pantry, you can throw together this savory, filling soup in only half an hour.

We were happy to discover that orzo and kasha can be cooked together. When we added the rich flavor and texture of portabellas and walnuts, we knew we had a winner.

For a delicious Italian dinner, serve this flavorful combination of portobello mushrooms, bell peppers, and plum tomatoes with brown rice or on your favorite whole-grain pasta.

No kneading or rising time is required for this mushroom-based pizza. Place it on a bed of arugula and watercress flavored with a feta dressing, and serve as they do in Europe—with a knife and fork.

Layers of mushroom slices, red bell peppers, and cheese, all seasoned with a sweet-and-sour onion mixture, combine to create a unique sandwich.

As an accompaniment for anything from roasted turkey at a holiday feast to grilled burgers on the patio, this side dish is hard to beat.

Lots of folks are tricked by markets that boast to be health food stores or natural food stores or even have the word fresh in their name. Though there is definitely something to be said for eating foods that are minimally processed, just because you do doesn’t mean you’ll be healthy in terms of weight, cholesterol, etc. I was recently at a natural food market where I saw a breaded portobello mushroom in the deli case. I thought it was a great idea until I looked at the nutritional information. It had a ridiculous amount of total fat, saturated fat, and calories. Believe it or not, the turkey meatballs were almost as bad. So I trudged home and made my own version in minutes. The team in my kitchen was particularly excited about this recipe, especially since each breaded mushroom has only 64 calories!

Looking for a tasty, healthy variation of a beef or turkey burger? Skip those processed veggie burgers and go for this all-natural alternative, the portobello. A portobello mushroom smothered with reduced-fat blue cheese crumbles is just as healthy as it is mouthwatering, and it is hearty enough to serve to even a meat lover.

This is for the pasta shunners out there who still find themselves pining for a big, gooey serving of lasagna. Nothing can really replace the toothsome texture of fresh pasta, but given the amount of “bad” carbs a serving of pasta contains, it’s understandable that some choose to avoid it altogether. Thin slices of zucchini and eggplant stand in for the pasta in this lasagna, made with fat-free ricotta and low-fat marinara sauce. It all adds up to a truly delish alternative to traditional high-calorie lasagna.

Usually, when I make meatloaf, I just press my mother’s meatball mix into a loaf pan—but that calls for pork, whole eggs, and white breadcrumbs. Not exactly spa cuisine. Instead of going for ground turkey here, I wanted to use lean beef for a richer taste. The Portobello mushrooms add moistness, flavor, and bulk—in exchange for very few calories.