Stuffed Portabellos

In a family of vegans, I sometimes like to see if I can veganize a recipe without losing something I’m used to tasting. Since portobellos are so meaty, it’s not usually a problem. The original recipe for this was a TikTok and made with shaved beef; not a particular favorite. I used Italian sausage, but it’s not mandatory. There are several plant-based sausages out there if you want the flavor without the meat.

Mushrooms are a favorite with me, but not everyone! I recently read that mushrooms are a biblical metaphor for Christ’s death and resurrection. I find that to be a stretch.

It’s easy to prep early in the day or even a day ahead, and probably takes about 15-30 minutes to throw together four servings. I confess I thought I could eat two, but I was filled right up.

My mom used to stuff mushrooms with Italian bread crumbs, a few strips of bacon, (cooked and crumbled), chopped sweet peppers, and chopped mushroom stems. This was absolutely delicious, and I loved when she added clams to turn the whole chopped collection into Clams Casino. She put the mixture into a greased baking dish and baked for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. We eye-balled our amounts, so you can too. Those are your bonus recipes, so here is some extra joy!

For this recipe, I leave out the bread crumbs and the bacon. I like a little chopped ginger in it, but not everyone does, so I’m not including it, only suggesting it!

One step I added was to take the cleaned mushroom caps and place them dome-up in a glass baking dish, add about two tablespoons of water, and microwave for one minute. This will soften the caps so that they’ll be cooked through after you stuff and broil them.

Stuffed Portobellos

To prepare, wash 4 large portobello mushrooms and remove stems, reserving for the stuffing.

Set the mushroom caps aside. Steam them ahead of time if you want them to be softened.

Take the casing off of 1 link sweet Italian sausage, and brown it, crumbled. Set aside to combine with the diced ingredients.

Prepare a cast iron or nonstick pan with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and warm it before you add the rest of the ingredients.

Dice the following and combine in the heated pan:

1 brightly colored sweet pepper—yellow, red, or orange

1 small onion or a small bunch of green onions

3 cloves garlic

Toss the diced ingredients and the crumbled brown sausage together in the prepared heated pan, and sauté until the peppers, onions, and mushroom stems are just tender.

Scoop 1/4 each into the mushrooms, top each with one slice Provolone cheese (4 sliices needed for this recipe).

Place the mushrooms on a broiler-safe baking pan and broil on high until the cheese is bubbly. This can be an hors d’ouvre or a meal in itself.