Portobello mushrooms are a favorite of mine, mostly due to their meaty texture and fabulous flavor.  In my vegetarian days, I always appreciated a tasty grilled portobello, whether in a sandwich, as fajita strips, or stuffed.  Trader Joe's carries "stuffing portobellos" which are only about 2 inches across and perfect for a filling.  They come six to a package.  Stuffed mushrooms are attractive, fancy-looking, self-contained morsels...two of these sizable babies on a plate and you have a perfect little side dish.   They really hold up to every kind of stuffing, from creamy fillings to bready fillings to vegetable fillings.  This weekend I tried a spinach, onion, feta, and breadcrumb combination that was very easy and worked beautifully.

I usually cook them in the oven at high heat, but I discovered that they cook up just fine on the stove top.  That's much more convenient if you're not using your oven for anything else.  Why heat it up for just a few minutes of cooking if there's an alternative?   My discovery happened on Christmas day when our neighborhood had an unexpected power outage right in the middle of cooking dinner.  Hmm, not the best timing.  As we went around the house collecting candles and tracking down our glasses of wine, I eyed my pans of (needing to be oven-roasted) vegetables and (still not cooked) mushrooms.  Time to improvise.   Fortunately we have gas burners, and the cooking finished up there.  I had to rely a little more on smell and taste since I couldn't see much.  I have to say that it was pretty relaxing and peaceful to cook by candlelight! 

Over the holidays, I actually stuffed them with Trader Joe's Cornbread Stuffing Mix and it was a nice twist to a very traditional side.  I still see boxes of the stuffing at Trader Joe's, so if you're curious to try that variation, snatch it up before it's gone for the season.    And if you're looking for an appetizer idea, you can use regular white mushrooms for a bite-sized version.

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Baby Portobellos

18 Stuffing Portobellos (3 packages)
2 cups frozen spinach
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup Organic Bread Crumbs
scant 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup Crumbled Feta with Mediterranean Herbs (Plain is fine too)

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees (stove top instructions are also included below). 
2. Clean the mushrooms and remove stems.  Chop up the stems and set aside.
3.  Thaw the spinach and thoroughly squeeze out all water.  Don't be shy - use your hands and give it a good squeeze.  The 2 cups of frozen spinach will turn into about 1/2 cup of thawed and drained spinach.  Place in a bowl.
4.  Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and saute the onions for a minute or two.  Add the stems and saute until onions are soft.  Discard any juices.  Add onion mixture to the bowl. 
5.  Add bread crumbs and salt to the bowl and combine thoroughly.
6.  Gently stir in the feta.
7.  Stuff each mushroom cap with the filling.  Arrange the caps, stuffing side up, on an oiled pan (for the oven) or in an oiled lidded skillet (for the stove top) or on a platter (for the grill).
8.  Cook for 7-8 minutes in the oven, 5 minutes in a lidded skillet over medium high heat, or a few minutes on the grill.  Ovens, grills, and burners can vary, so stop cooking the second the mushrooms look heated through and tender. You want to stop cooking before they start losing water and stewing.

Serves 6-9 

Side note:  Everyone seems to love portobellos yet no one seems to agree on how to spell it!  Portobello? Portabella? Portobella?  The correct spelling is portobello, but I'm probably guilty of misspelling it here and there myself.  Did you know that the criminis they sell at TJ's are simply baby portobellos?