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For something delicious, impressive, healthful (except when loaded with cheese), and easy to make, we love meaty stuffed portabella mushrooms. We have our favorite fall transition recipes, as the lighter foods of summer transition to the heartier autumn and winter recipes.
Stuffed portables are so versatile.
They can be vegan, vegetarian or stuffed with ground meat or poultry.
They can be filled with scrambled eggs and kale for breakfast, used instead of English muffins for a twist on Eggs Benedict.
Substitute ‘shroom for bread: the bun of a burger, the slices for grilled cheese.
> Is it portabella, portobello or portabello? See the explanation below.
Plan a celebration: National Stuffed Mushroom Day is February 4th.
> Check out the different types of mushrooms in our Mushroom Glossary.
MUSHROOM COOKING TIPS
To avoid sogginess:
1. WIPE the mushrooms clean. Don’t wet them or they’ll absorb water. You can use a slightly damp paper towel or a dry mushroom brush, which is softer than other vegetable brushes so it doesn’t bruise the delicate flesh.
2. PRE-BROIL or pre-bake for 3 minutes or so, to release some of the mushroom’s natural water. Then stuff and return to the heat.
3. COOK until the topping is just browned. Overcooking will release any remaining natural mushroom moisture into your filling, as it dries out the mushroom.
> There’s a recipe for Spinach-Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms below.
DIFFERENT STUFFINGS FOR PORTABELLAS
Appetizers Or First Courses
Herbed goat cheese (garnish with croutons)
Mock onion soup: caramelized onions, croutons (or one large crouton) and gruyère (photo #4)
Pork or chicken sausage, spinach and smoked mozzarella; or lamb sausage with spinach and feta
Salads
Artichoke hearts (not marinated) and pimiento (roasted red pepper) with optional pepper jack cheese
Caprese: chopped tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, drizzled with EVOO
“Cheese course” (photo #4)
Corn and black bean salad
Israeli salad: chopped cucumbers, tomatoes
Mesclun/baby greens with garnishes of choice (photo #1)
Salad base (“edible salad bowl”): arugula, spinach (with bacon and chopped onions)
Sides
Caramelized onions and bacon (or variation: pork belly, proscuitto)
Cornbread stuffing, sausage and optional jalapeno
Grains: barley, pilaf, quinoa, risotto, wild rice, etc.
Gratins
Ratatouille
Mashed: cauliflower (photo #2), potatoes (photo #3), acorn/butternut squash
Pasta: orzo, soup pasta
Polenta, topped with shaved radicchio
Three bean salad
Dressing: bread cubes, onion, celery and anything else you add with the turkey dressing
Mains
Chicken cubes, broccoli florets and sundried tomatoes
Chicken salad with apples, celery, red onion and parsley or other favorite recipe (we like this curried chicken salad with grapes)
Grilled cheese: the mushroom becomes the toast
Leftovers: stretch short ribs, stew, whatever (photo #7)
Portabella “pizza,” with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and your favorite pizza toppings stuffed into the cap (photo #9—anchovies, anyone?)
Shredded pork or other protein, with barbecue sauce or other condiment
Seafood gratin (photo #8)
“Tacos,” with seasoned chopped beef or turkey, chopped tomatoes or drained pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, sour cream or grated/crumbled cheese and a tortilla strips garnish
CONSIDER…
Brush the caps with a flavored oil—basil, truffle, etc.—instead of olive oil spray.
Pay attention to seasonings. We’re big on fresh herbs.
Raw mushrooms can be used in salad preparations; but you can cook them if you prefer.
Garnish for fun and flavor, from breadcrumbs to pickled jalapeños.
Consider international focus, such as spinach, feta and oregano (with optional ground lamb), and curry, almonds and raisins.
RECIPE: SPINACH-STUFFED PORTABELLA MUSHROOMS
Frozen spinach is a time saver in this easy recipe (photo #6, the bottom photo at right).
Ingredients For 4 Servings
4 portabella mushroom caps
Olive oil cooking spray
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
¼ cup grated Parmesan
Preparation
1. PLACE the oven rack in the middle and preheat the broiler on the high setting. Line a baking sheet with foil.
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Portabella Starters & Sides
[1] Enjoy a small salad in a portabella cap. You don’t have to cook the cap, but you certainly can. recipeHere’s the recipe (photo © Pom Wonderful).
[2] Try cauliflower purée (or other favorite vegetable purée) in a portabella cap (photo ©The Purple Carrot).
[3] Mushrooms gratin: Fill the caps with shredded Gruyère or other melting cheese. Here’s the original recipe. We turned our version into mock onion soup, filling the cap with caramelized onions and Gruyère croutons (photo © Urban Accents).
[4] Who could turn down mashed potatoes and bacon? Here’s the recipe (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).
[5] This starter or side is filled with goat cheese, roasted tomatoes and lots of chopped herbs. Here’s the recipe. We substituted garlic cloves for the goat cheese, and sprinkled on crumbled cheese when the ‘shrooms came out of the oven (photo © A Food Centric Life).
[6] Easy spinach-stuffed portables. Here’s the recipe (photo © Healthy Recipes Blog).
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2. WIPE the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel or a mushroom brush. Remove the stems and reserve for another purpose (eggs, salad, etc.). Spray the caps on both sides with the olive oil and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.
3. BROIL for 5 minutes on each side, or until just tender. While the mushrooms cook…
4. DEFROST the spinach in the microwave according to package directions; place in a colander to drain. When cool enough to handle, press on the cooked spinach with your hands and extract as much water as possible out of it. Repeat this until you can extract more water (we wring it with our hands).
5. REMOVE the mushrooms from the oven. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat (about 3 minutes). Add the onion and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until golden stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, spinach, the rest of the salt and pepper. Cook, stirring to blend, for 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and cool a few minutes; then mix in the Parmesan.
6. FILL the mushroom caps with the stuffing, piled high. Place back under the broiler on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, or until the filling is golden.
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Portabella Main Courses
[7] Toss together leftovers: here, turkey, broccoli and cheddar (photo © Mushroom Info).
[8] Turn portabellas into mini pizzas. (photo © Picture The Recipe).
[9] Lobster in a cream sherry sauce (photo © Mushroom Council).
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IS IT PORTABELLA, PORTABELLO OR PORTOBELLO?
AND THE HISTORY OF PORTABELLA MUSHROOMS
How can one mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, have three different spellings? After all, chanterelle is chanterelle, morel is morel, porcini is porcini.
The answer: When Americans began to grow and sell cremini mushrooms in southeastern Pennsylvania in the 1960s, it was a very small output. The growers were largely from Italy, and grew the creminis they missed from the old country.
A 1996 article in Nation’s Restaurant News noted that initially there was no market for the creminis. The public wanted pristine white mushrooms. Fortunately, the back-to-earth movement of the 1960s and 1970s opened the door for the growers to make another stab at selling them.
According to Food Timeline, food experts generally agree on these points when it comes to the history of portabellas:
By accident, growers found that creminis that weren’t harvested grew into extra-large mushrooms (what became known as portabellas). These large mushrooms are here today despite early efforts to thwart them.
Both cremini and portobello mushrooms are first mentioned in the New York Times during the mid-1980s. The growers named the new variety. Portabella means “beautiful door; portobello means “beautiful port.”
In a 1996 article in Nation’s Restaurant News on the growing popularity of portabellas, Wade Whitfield of the Mushroom Council, an industry trade group, noted, “They are really culls. You didn’t want them in the mushroom bed. [Growers] would throw them away. There was no market. Growers would take them home.”
Whitfield then noted: “This thing has gone from nearly zero in 1993 to a predicted 30 million pounds this year. It’s a major item. It will be the largest specialty mushroom.”
According to The New Food Lover’s Companion, “‘portobello’ began to be used in the 1980s as a brilliant marketing ploy to popularize an unglamorous mushroom that, more often than not, had to be disposed of because growers couldn’t sell them.”
There is no definitive spelling. According to Food Timeline, an un-scientific Google survey at one point showed that portobello got the most searches (169,000), followed by portabella (33,100) and portobella (3,510). Wade Whitfield noted The Mushroom Council preferred “portabella”; we use “portabella” because we prefer how it rolls off the tongue.
We must point out, vis-a-vis the spelling variations of portabella, that cremini is also spelled crimini, and also called the brown mushroom, Italian brown mushroom, and Roman mushroom. Newer marketing names including baby portobellos, mini bellas, and portabellinis. “Baby Bella” is a trademarked name.
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