While searching for a way to use my leftover ricotta cheese from the Portobello Lasagna Rollups, I came across this recipe for Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms, which conveniently took care of my leftover spinach too. Rachael Ray touts this as a lighter twist on spinach and artichoke dip, one of my favorite indulgent appetizers.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip (click image for recipe)

Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Since I don’t have easy access to a grill to cook the mushrooms, I use a grill pan.  Olive oil didn’t seem like enough flavoring for me, so I decided to salt and pepper the mushroom caps and baste the caps with a little balsamic vinegar in addition to the oil.

Jessica's First Bite

Spinach and artichoke dip they were not, but the stuffed mushrooms were a flavorful meal. The faraway look in my eyes is me wondering what was missing that would have given the stuffing a zing–maybe hot sauce would have done the trick? I was also surprised that I had room for one and a half of these (I thought I’d have one left over for the next day), but with basically spinach and part-skim ricotta as the filling, they were actually quite light.

The recipe follows–I used 2 mushrooms, but only halved the stuffing amounts to make for a nice-sized meal.

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2007

Ingredients

• 8 portabello mushroom caps
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing mushrooms
• 1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• 1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained well
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 clove garlic, grated with microplane or small side box grater
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/8 teaspoon
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, a couple of handfuls

Directions

Preheat grill to medium-high and oven to 425 degrees F.

Using a damp towel, brush mushroom caps to clean. Using a pastry brush, coat the caps with extra-virgin olive oil and grill with lid down or roast about 5 to 6 minutes, turning once, until tender but still firm at center.

Wring the spinach out in a clean kitchen towel. Separate the spinach with your fingers and combine with artichokes, ricotta cheese, egg yolk, grated garlic, salt and pepper, to taste, and nutmeg.

Remove mushroom caps from grill.

To portion-control the filling, divided the stuffing into 4 parts then just split each of those evenly between 2 caps. Sprinkle the caps with Parmigiano and cook 5 to 6 minutes more in the preheated oven to set filling and lightly brown tops.