Ingredients:
Serves 4

  • 4 large Mushrooms (Portabella is great!)
  • 2 cups White wine OR Low Sodium Chicken Broth
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • 2 tsp Garlic, minced
  • 1 cup Red Bell Pepper, chopped
  • 3 Italian-style Sausage
  • 2 cups Couscous – cooked (divided use)
  • 4 cups Spinach, chopped and frozen (divided use)
  • ½ tsp Basil, dried
  • ¼ tsp Red Pepper, ground
  • ½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
  • ½ cup Panko Bread Crumbs
Use large, meaty portabella mushrooms for a vegetarian main dish. Or, use smaller mushrooms to serve as appetizers.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F

  • Cook Couscous according to package directions
  • Rinse Mushrooms, cut out the stems. Pour the Wine or Broth into a bowl and soak the Mushroom caps in the bowl.
  • Chop the stems which you removed.
  • In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp Olive Oil on medium heat. Add the minced Garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Then add the Red Bell Pepper and chopped Mushroom stems and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the Sausage to the skillet (squeeze the meat out of the casing) and cook until no longer pink. Stir in 1 cup of Couscous, and 1 cup of the frozen Spinach, dried Basil and ground Red Pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is heated through. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of the Broth or Wine to the mixture as needed.
  • In a small bowl, mix the Parmesan Cheese and Panko Bread Crumbs.
  • Prepare a casserole dish by coating the bottom with 1 Tbsp Olive Oil.

Cook’s Notes: I use the frozen Spinach for this kind of dish because it’s already cooked and often the most economical choice. If you prefer, fresh spinach will work great, you’ll just need enough to cook down to 4 cups.

 

  • Take each Mushroom caps from the bowl and place on a work surface. Fill each Mushroom with the filling. Use your hands or a spoon to form small mounds of filling. Sprinkle each mushroom with the Parmesan Cheese mixture. Place the stuffed Mushrooms in the casserole dish.
  • Add 1/2 cup of the White Wine or Broth to the bottom of the casserole and place it in the oven. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes.
  • While that’s baking, cook the remaining Spinach in the same skillet by adding the ¼ – ½ cup White Wine or Broth, Spinach and Couscous to the pan, cover, and heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally. Add more liquid as needed.
  • To Serve: Divide the Spinach equally onto 4 plates. Place the Stuffed Mushroom on the plate and enjoy!