Finals Week Fungi: Mediterranean Stuffed Mushrooms

It's finals week at DePaul, meaning I don't have much time. After working an eight hour day at my internship and having spent a little too much time working on my final 18th Century English Literature essay, I needed a quick and easy dinner solution that would be delicious, but require minimal effort.

My Solution? Stuffed mushrooms.


If there's haters out there, I totally get it. I used to hate mushrooms too. The texture, especially, is definitely an acquired taste, and it has been just in the last year or so that I've actually started eating these guys. Now, I love them.

You can stuff portobello mushrooms with basically anything....other veggies, meat, mashed potatoes...whatever you fancy! But this was also part of my problem; I'm going home in just a few days and I'm trying to finish off my groceries. So, what I ended up throwing together was a little bit of a hodge podge of stuff I happened to have in the fridge, but I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious my 'shroom turned out. Check it out:

This mushroom was delicious. Even though I threw
together some random ingredients in my fridge,
the flavors were well balanced.

Mediterranean Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• Portobello mushroom cap(s)
• Hummus
• Tomato (thinly sliced)
• Spinach (chopped)
• Parmesan cheese, finely grated (any cheese will do, though)
• Panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
• Balsamic glaze
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Procedure

First, wash your mushrooms and gently scrape out the gills with a spoon. Rub mushroom with a little extra virgin olive oil, and season both sides with salt and pepper. Broil for approximately 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, gather your ingredients...I just used what I happened to have in my fridge: garlic hummus, tomato, spinach, and parmesan. Thinly slice enough tomato for your mushrooms, chop a small bunch of spinach, and grate some parmesan cheese (I used my microplane to make it super thin and light) and mix it with a little panko breadcrumbs and freshly ground black pepper. Now, this would also be great with a slice of provolone cheese on top, as well! In that case, don't use the panko breadcrumbs. I really like it with the parmesan, though, because it gives the top an extra crisp.

After the mushrooms have been cooking under the broiler for about 8-10 minutes, remove them and begin to stuff them with deliciousness. First, I spread down a base of the garlic hummus, followed by a layer of tomatoes, spinach, and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Although I didn't put the cheese on at this point, if you're using a cheese that will take longer to melt, I'd put it on now. Broil again for about 5 minutes, remove, and add the parmesan/panko/pepper mixture to the top and place back under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are golden brown and crispy. Voila! A delicious, healthy, and practically effortless dinner, perfect for a student with a minimal budget and minimal time.

And even though I just stress-ate a big bowl of vanilla ice cream with peanut butter, chocolate syrup, and pretzels, I don't have to feel that bad because my dinner was balanced, wholesome, and delicious. It's finals week, right? I deserve it.