Cheese & 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; if you can only find smaller ones, buy one or two extra and divide the filling among all the caps. Serve with a tossed salad and a whole-wheat dinner roll or spaghetti tossed with marinara sauce.

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Servings: 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

•   4  large portobello mushroom caps 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese 
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach 
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped kalamata olives 
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
• 3/4 cup prepared marinara sauce 

Preparations:

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 salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Roast until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mash ricotta, spinach, 1/4 cup Parmesan, olives, Italian seasoning and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Place marinara sauce in a small bowl, cover and microwave on High until hot, 30 seconds to 1 1/2 minutes.
4. 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 tablespoon marinara into each cap; cover the remaining sauce to keep warm. Mound a generous 1/3 cup ricotta filling into each cap and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until hot, about 10 minutes. Serve with the remaining marinara sauce.

Nutrition:
Per serving  Calories: 216; Carbohydrates: 16g; Fat: 11g; Saturated Fat: 5g; Monounsaturated Fat: 4g; Protein: 14g; Cholesterol: 29mg; Dietary Fiber: 3g; Sodium: 683mg