Portobello Parmesan

As I mentioned in a previous post I've been craving lots of veggies lately.  Portobello mushrooms were on sale at the grocery store last week, so I took advantage of that to whip up this vegetarian version of Chicken or Eggplant Parmesan.

This isn't actually a very authentic version of a Chicken Parm knock-off, because I didn't fry anything, and I didn't use any actual parmesan cheese (because I didn't have any on hand).  You could easily mix some parmesan in with the mozzarella on top for a slightly different flavor.  If you notice in the above picture, two of the mushroom caps (lower center, and upper right) appear slightly more greasy and green-ish.  That is because I had a little pesto sauce in the fridge that needed to be used, so I stuffed those two portobellos with pesto (rather than marinara) prior to covering with cheese.  Pesto/ mozzarella portobellos are something that I love to serve as an appetizer or side dish, and when I do so I don't usually serve them with marinara sauce, although the combo did work well with these.  You could also add a little more flavor to the mushrooms by drizzling them with olive oil and/ or balsamic vinegar prior to topping with sauce and baking (but they are fine as is).

Portobello Parmesan (well really mozzarella in this case)

-6 portobello mushrooms, cleaned
-full recipe of marinara sauce below (or use your favorite jarred variety
-salt and pepper
-2 cups mozzarella cheese

Cover bottom of 13x9 dish with half of sauce.  Place mushrooms (gill side up) in dish.  Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper.  Cover mushrooms with remaining marinara sauce.  Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.  Sprinkle cheese over mushrooms and bake 5 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Marinara Sauce


This sauce can be used for spaghetti, manicotti, zitti, lasagna, chicken parmesan or your favorite Italian dish.
-1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
-1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tablespoon white sugar
-1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
-2 teaspoons dried oregano
-1 pinch red pepper flakes
-2 teaspoons dried basil (or if I have fresh on hand I snip it and stir it in at the last minute instead)

In a large pot combine the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, sugar, vinegar, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes. Stir all together and simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes.  Stir frequently to prevent burning.

Shannon