Easy Eats for Hard Times
That’s right, our 99-cent store often has portobellos. A package of two big fat ones for a buck. But you gotta use them fast—there’s a reason why they go for a dollah.
Anyway, this is really easy and tasty. If you don’t want sausage, substitute another tablespoon of cheese and a tablespoon of olive oil. If you don’t have portobellos, use several large brown mushrooms. They’re the same thing, really.
- Two large portobello mushrooms
- 1 Italian sausage
- 4 tbsp water, broth or white wine
- 2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp ground Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts
- 1 tbsp oil-cured or Kalamata olives, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- Flat-leaf parsley, a handful, chopped
Preheat oven to 425°F. Slit open the sausage and discard the casing. Brown the sausage along with the garlic. Add a couple of tablespoons of water after it browns, sooner if it sticks.
While the sausage is cooking, cut the stems out of the mushrooms and wipe the caps with a damp paper towel. Put the mushrooms upside down in the baking dish along with the water, broth or wine. Chop up the stems.
Combine the stems with the breadcrumbs, cheese, pine nuts, olives and celery. Add the breadcrumb mixture to the pan when the sausage is cooked. Remove from the fire.
Pile the stuff on top of the mushrooms. Bake for 25 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Top with chopped parsley. Eat ’em up.
