What lies beneath that beautiful blanket of cheese? A nice, meaty lasagna? A breaded and fried chicken cutlet? The answer is a delicious surprise.
No mystery meat here. Mushroom Parmesan is one of my all-time favorite recipes, something I discovered years ago when I was a full-fledged vegetarian. I’m no longer a veg, but I consistently return to this recipe when I want something savory, hearty and delicious. I’ve served it to some pretty hardcore meat eaters (including my husband) and everyone loves it. Portobello mushrooms have a wonderful beefy texture that stands up to the cheese and marinara used in this dish. It’s also far less labor intensive than eggplant parmesan – no breading and/or frying required. The mushrooms are slightly precooked to soften them up…
…and then covered in cheese and sauce before they’re baked in the oven. Count on two large mushrooms per person and serve with copious amounts of garlic bread.
Mushroom Parmesan
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
4 to 6 large portobello mushrooms
1 to 2 c quality marinara sauce (or other tomato sauce of your choice)
1/2 to 3/4 c shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
olive oil
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth. Remove the stem and use a spoon to gently scrape away the gills.
Set a grill pan or large skillet over medium high heat. Drizzle the mushrooms on both sides with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the mushrooms in the pan and cook, turning occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until they are fairly tender.
Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray and add a bit of marinara to coat the bottom of the pan. Place the mushrooms in the dish and top each with a generous amount of sauce, followed by the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly. If desired, broil for a few minutes at the end for a nice, brown exterior.
i’ll take 3 please
but in all seriousness this sounds incredible and I will be making it the second i have a chance to go grocery shopping!
That looks awesome! I think my meat eating husband would enjoy this, I definitely have to try it out.
Totally gonna try to sneak this one by Eric. Esp. if I can cook it without him seeing me do it… Hmm…. Wish me luck!
Really want to make this for dinner tonight…I think your brothers would like it, don’t you? The photos are fabulous…looks like you could reach right in and take a bite. Yum!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I would like to emphasize what Beth said about g-e-n-t-l-y scraping away the gills. I’ve never cooked portabello mushrooms before and, in my exuberance, found bits of gill all over my kitchen floor. Otherwise everything went off without a hitch. My grocery store sells portabellos in packs of two, making this an easy dinner to cook for one person.