Gooey Mozzarella Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup panko crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped parsley (plus a little more for serving)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 portobello mushroom caps (about 1½ pounds with stems removed)

8 ounces cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 red, orange or yellow bell pepper (sliced into ½-inch dice)

1 small zucchini (sliced into half-moons)

½ red onion (thinly sliced)

1 tablespoon grated or finely chopped garlic

¼-½ teaspoon crushed red chili pepper (to taste)

1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme)

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 ounces mozzarella or fontina cheese (shredded)

Directions

Heat oven to 400 (200 C) degrees.

Mix the stuffing:

Put the breadcrumbs, cheese, olive oil and parsley in a bowl. Stir to combine and moisten the crumbs.

Prepare the baked mushrooms and vegetables:

Pull the stems off the caps. Scrape out the gills with a spoon.

Combine the tomatoes, bell pepper, zucchini, red onion, garlic, crushed chili pepper, thyme and 1 teaspoon salt on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss everything around to coat.

Nestle the mushroom caps, gill side up, into the vegetables so they lay flat in the pan. Sprinkle with salt to taste. Evenly spoon the breadcrumbs into each cap, using about ¼ cup for each one.

Bake the mushrooms 25 minutes. The vegetables should look shriveled and the breadcrumbs golden brown.

Distribute the cheese evenly over the top of the mushrooms. Return to the pan to the oven. Bake about 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Sprinkle with some additional parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition

• Calories: 353 kcal
• Total Fat: 22 g
• Saturated Fat: 7 g
• Cholesterol: 33 mg
• Sodium: 374 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 30 g
• Dietary Fiber: 3 g
• Total Sugars: 5 g
• Protein: 11 g