Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Portobellos

"Here we take the elements of a vegetarian lasagna filling—ricotta, spinach and Parmesan cheese—and nestle them into roasted portobello mushroom caps. The recipe works best with very large portobello caps. . . Serve with a tossed salad and a whole-wheat dinner roll or spaghetti tossed with marinara sauce." Note: After making this dish, I have changed the recipe slightly from the original (increased it to 6 mushrooms from 4, added garlic and chives, then mozarella on top instead of parmesan. If you like spicy stuff, I would recommend adding a few crushed red pepper flakes to the marinara sauce. Recipe from Eating Well.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 6 mushrooms

Ingredients

• 6  large  portobello mushroom caps, stems removed
• 1⁄4 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, divided
• 1  cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1  cup  finely chopped fresh spinach
• 2  minced garlic cloves
• 1⁄4 cup  finely shredded parmesan cheese
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped kalamata olives
• 1  tablespoon  finely minced chives (may substitute green onion)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  italian seasoning
• 1  cup  prepared  marinara sauce
• 1⁄2 cup  shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°F Coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Place mushroom caps, gill-side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle with seasoning salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast until tender, 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, olives, chives, garlic, Italian seasoning and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl.
4. Place marinara sauce in a small bowl, cover and microwave on High until hot, 30 to 90 seconds depending on your microwave.
5. When the mushrooms are tender, carefully pour out any liquid accumulated in the caps. Return the caps to the pan gill-side up. Spread 1-2 tablespoon marinara into each cap; cover the remaining sauce to keep warm.
6. Mound a generous 1/4 - 1/3 cup ricotta filling into each cap (depending on the size) and sprinkle with the mozarella cheese.
7. Return stuffed mushrooms to the top rack of the oven and BROIL on high for 3-5 minutes until top is browned. Remove from oven and let stand for 3-5 minutes prior to serving. Serve with the remaining marinara sauce.