Stuffed Portobellos with Linguini

This dish was inspired by my friend, Nicole who had stuffed mushrooms at Oregano's and wanted to know how to make them. I stuffed these with sausage and spinach, but you could do a meatless version and stuff the mushrooms with grilled veggies or artichoke hearts and spinach. In this post, I'm also including the recipe for my homemade spaghetti sauce, but you can, of course use jarred sauce if you prefer. Here's what I did....

Spaghetti sauce

-1/2 of a large sweet onion, diced
-4 roma tomatoes, diced
-2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely diced or grated on a microplane (AKA hand-held grater)
-1 small can of tomato paste (6oz)
-1/2 cup of red wine (I just use whatever I have open or one that I'm going to drink with dinner.)
-1 large can of tomato sauce (28oz)
-1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes (use less if you're sensitive to heat)
-1 tsp of dried oregano
-1 tsp dried basil
-7 to 8 leaves of fresh basil, sliced thinly
-a handful of flat leaf (Italian) parsley, chopped

In a large stock pot or sauce pot, heat 1 TBS of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add in the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent, stirring frequently. Next add in the red pepper flakes, dried oregano and dried basil, rubbing them in your palm before adding them to the pot. (This releases more flavor.) Add the garlic (if using) and tomatoes and a heavy pinch of salt and saute until soft, stirring often, for 12-15 minutes. (You want to see a mash like consistency with the onions and tomatoes. So, after about 6 minutes, the tomatoes should be really soft and you can begin breaking them up with your wooden spoon.) After the tomatoes and onions have created a mash, add the entire can of tomato paste. Stir to combine with the tomatoes and onions and let the tomato paste cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the red wine and let the liquid cook out for 3-4 minutes. Next, add the tomato sauce, parsley and half of the fresh basil. Stir to combine. Once the sauce begins to bubble, reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Right before serving, add in remaining basil and salt and pepper to taste.

*Before starting the mushrooms, I put a pot of water on to bring up to a boil for the pasta.

Stuffed Mushrooms

-portobello mushrooms (allow 1 per person, try to get them all the same size, for even cooking. Remove stems by twisting them gently.)
-Italian pork sausage, any heat level you like (I had 2 Italian sausage links, (about 1/4 lb) which I removed the casing from and broke it up. This was enough meat for 3 mushrooms.
-1 small shallot, finely diced
-a handful of fresh spinach, sliced
-3 to 4 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
-a small handful of parsley, chopped
-1/4 cup of panko bread crumbs (they are Japanese style bread crumbs. If you can't find these, just use regular plain bread crumbs.)
-a generous handful of shredded or grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling

In a medium saute pan, heat up a 1/2 TBS of extra virgin olive oil, over medium heat. Break up the Italian sausage with your fingers and place into the pan. (If you used the sausage links, make sure to remove the casing, by cutting a slit down the sausage and peeling back the casing.) Let the meat brown on one side (about 4 minutes) before stirring it around. Add the shallots and cook for 3 minutes more. Deglaze the pan with a splash of chicken stock and let the liquid cook out. (If you don't already have some chicken stock open or on hand, omit this step.) Remove from the pan onto a plate lined with paper towel to catch any excess grease. In a bowl, combine the spinach, parsley, basil, panko, parmesan and meat. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. (Drop your pasta into the boiling water and cook 8-10 minutes or until desired tenderness.) With a paper towel, wipe out the saute pan and bring up to temperature over medium heat with 1 TBS of olive oil. Place 1-2 mushrooms, gill side up into the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until slightly softened. Repeat as needed until all the mushrooms have been cooked. Remove from pan and onto a cookie sheet. Preheat the broiler to high. Begin spooning the filling into the mushroom caps with an even amount of filling. Sprinkle the top with some parmesan cheese. Place under the broiler for 5-6 minutes or until cheese melts.

To serve, drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add several ladles of sauce and stir to combine. Place pasta on a plate topping it with a stuffed mushroom. Drizzle the mushroom with some extra sauce if desired.

*I apologize for the lack of pictures of the sauce. I decided too late in the game that I wanted to put my sauce recipe on here. I will post more pictures when I make it again.