Picking up a food processor on my way home I found I had little space to carry things and my stomach had little patience to walk around a grocery store staring at food. So, determined to get home before 7:00 I dashed into a grocery store, picked up mushrooms and sundried tomatoes in oil.
The following recipe was something I'd made before from one of my favorite recipe books, The Complete Coconut Cookbook, by Camilla V. Saulsbury. She also runs the blog powerhungry.com, so check it out. The first time I'd made this I didn't have the right sundried tomatoes and found that the recipe didn't turn out so great. I was determined to improve though with the knowledge I had from the first go around. Once again, I didn't have the same ingredients the recipe calls for, but how different could white stuffer mushrooms be compared to portobello mushrooms?
Rubbing some coconut oil and balsamic vinegar over these babies I popped them into an oven which was preheated to 400. Meanwhile, I poured 1/2 cup of water into a bowl with 2 tablespoons of coconut flour and let it sit to make a goop which I will comment upon later. Throwing a pan on the stove I turned it onto medium heat and let some coconut oil melt. Now the recipe calls for 6 cups of packed baby spinach, but both times I've made it with baby spinach that I've just thrown into the pan and let wilt, not tearing it. Also, the amount of stuffing this recipe makes seems a bit excessive for the four mushrooms you stuff. If you plan on following the exact recipe along with measurements then maybe add another mushroom to stuff so you're not wasting the leftover stuffing.
Originally the recipe calls for you to cut the stems off the mushrooms and clean out the gills, but I forgot to save the stems this time. So instead of tossing the spinach with the stems, I threw in a few other cut up mushrooms I had in the fridge. Once your spinach is wilted add the goop, 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast, 3 tbsp of chopped sun-dried tomatoes from a package of oil and if you like black olives, 3 tbsp of those chopped up. I switched out the olives for more tomatoes and it was delicious. Now while you're doing this, don't forget about your mushrooms in the oven which are probably brown and a bit cooked by now!
Next you want to let the flavours all meld together in low-medium heat. I added in a bit of garlic powder because I love garlic and it's part of the diet I follow, as well as salt and pepper. Flip those mushroom beauties over and spoon in a bit of the stuffing into each mushroom cap. I filled my generously because I had a ton of stuffing and didn't want to waste any. Feel free to put in as much or as little as you want.
Once you've finished this, put them back in the oven for about 5-7 minutes. I'm pretty sure I left mine in a bit longer because I got caught up on the phone, but I figure with these thick mushroom caps that was okay. And it was! I pulled these out of the oven 10 mins later and they looked amazing.
Let them sit a bit in the pan so that they can set and aren't going to fall apart when you pick them up with tongs (which I find is the best way to pick these babies up). Feel free to eat as many as you want too! They're filled with nutritious ingredients! I ate 3 and was full, saving the other one for tomorrow which I'll heat up in the oven (I've never tried this so I'll update you on how this works).
The only downfall to this recipe is the texture of the stuffing. Remember how I called the coconut flour and water mixture goop? Well it kind of is. I get that maybe Camilla is attempting to create the texture of cheese, or is using this as a thickener for the juices that come out of the spinach, tomatoes and mushroom, but it is a very odd texture to get used to. I'm still not a fan, however I think with time and more exposure I will begin to enjoy it just as I've become accustomed to the taste of coconut in everything I eat (it's actually one of my favorite foods now!).
If anything, these make for a beautiful looking meal. Serve them for supper or as a side. And as I said, stuff them as full or as little as you'd like :)
Recipe
- Preheat Oven to 500 F (260 C) (personally I use 400 F, 500 seems a bit extreme)
- Large rimmed baking sheet, lined with foil and greased with coconut oil
4 Extra-large portobello mushrooms
2 TBSP Melted virgin coconut oil, divided
2 tsp Balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP Coconut flour
1/2 cup Coconut water or water
6 cups Packed baby spinach, roughly torn
2 TBSP Nutritional yeast
3 TBSP Chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3 TBSP Chopped pitted brine-cured black olives (optional)
Salt & Pepper (and other spices you find yummy)
- Remove stems from mushrooms. Chop stems and set aside. Gently scoop out black gills of mushroom with a spoon and discard. Place the mushroom caps, hollow side down, on prepared baking sheet. Brush 1 TBSP oil and the vinegar over tops of mushrooms. Bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or until tender.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine coconut flour and coconut water or water; let stand for 5 minutes.
- In a large skillet, heat the remaining oil over low heat. Add spinach and mushroom stems, increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes or until wilted. Add coconut flour mixture, nutritional yeast, sun-dried tomatoes and olives; cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes to heat through and blend the flavours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Turn mushrooms over on baking sheet and fill caps with spinach mixture. Bake for 7-10 minutes or until filling is golden brown.
- Enjoy!
*Note: This recipe does not belong to me, nor did I create this recipe. See Camilla V. Saulsbury's book The Complete Coconut Cookbook for the original recipe.
