This post was originally published a while back. I wasn’t happy with the pictures—admittedly, I was just learning how to work a camera—so I wanted to give this recipe another chance to be seen with some new pictures. A few tweaks to the post, and a minor one to the recipe, have also been made along with a few notes for clarification. This recipe is perfect for entertaining when you have mixed company (in this instance, meaning meat-eaters and vegetarians alike) because the meatiness of mushrooms, and the heartiness of the beans make this a filling meal—not the wimpy, persnickety fare that sometimes conjure when we think “vegetarian”. Not to mention, there are vegan possibilities!
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I hate to call anything “health food”. There’s the argument that in calling certain foods, recipes or methods of preparation and cooking “healthy” it means that anything that does not fall neatly into those categories is “unhealthy”. Because of our connotations to these words we mentally define them as “good” and “bad”, respectively. There are certainly foods that are “bad” for us to some extent—brownies, cake, deep fried chicken, greasy burgers, full-fat cheese, heavy cream, etc.—but if we eat them in the now-passé-to-say way of “moderation” they’re far less lethal than, say, eating the leaves of rhubarb, under ripe potatoes, ill-prepared puffer fish or haphazardly eating wild mushrooms you find on the forest floor.
But for me it goes beyond this metaphysical philosophy and the act of canonizing some foods while we demonize others. When I think of health food I think of low-fat, low-cal, low-sodium, all natural, whole grain, no added this or that, and so on. I think of the term “conscience eating”, making sure every ingredient is evaluated on its merits to better health or weight loss first. Never mind that fat-free cheese has the taste and texture of rubber bands, though it doesn’t melt quite as well– it’s “healthier” than real cheese so to hell with it. It feels so constricting and stifling, being confined to using certain ingredients and restricted from others. So when I think of health food I think of being restricted and confined to a certain set of things, slavishly working within these rigidly defined parameters and, as such, creativity, fluidity and joy are words you can’t quite associate with it. On the other side, “unhealthy” food has no rules, no restrictions and no limitations—you’re free, free, free! Now, what sounds like more fun?
I also think of that episode of Absolutely Fabulous, where Eddy is on another health kick and takes a slug of some awful health drink, gags it back and says, “Oh, God! It tastes foul so it must be doing me some good.” It’s the old adage we’ve all heard and said; why do things that are bad for us taste so good and healthy things taste so bad?
So rather than think of anything as “health food”, I prefer to think of it as a method to either undo the damage I’ve done over the weekend, prepare me for the damage I’m about to do, or feel the need to be brought back to my center when I get a little carried away on chocolate chip cookies or eat nothing but Carbonara for a week straight. Yes—it’s not about moderation or self-control, it’s about being centered. This recipe here is a great way to nourish those needs but still allows you certain freedoms; there are beans (carbs!), full-fat cheeses (fat!), olive oil (more fat!) and alcohol (empty calories and sugar!), but, as you’ll see, done with your own self-centeredness in mind it’s hardly worth the mention (take that how you will).
When I think of stuffed mushrooms, I usually think of the petite creminis stuffed with sausage or cheeses for parties. A regular meal in our house is a larger version of this, portabellas stuffed with Italian sausage and kale, but I love this vegetarian one. There’s something about the pairing of mushrooms, Marsala, and rosemary—though thyme could be substituted—and these flavors work so well with cannellini beans, a willing blank canvas. To make this truly vegetarian you can’t actually use authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano, as it contains rennet, but regular Parmesan can be substituted. I mean, Parmigiano isn’t really necessary but for me, the cannellini, rosemary and Marsala make this feel like an Italian meal so I gravitate towards the real deal. In fact, at that point, you could always substitute the Parmigiano for vegan Parmesan to make this a vegan meal (and, incongruently, you could grind up some prosciutto and mix it in with the breadcrumbs and parm that you top the shrooms with for a little extra flavor).
Whether you’re vegetarian or not, you’ll find this totally satisfying. It’s a pretty quick and easy vegetarian meal that’s not only delicious but it’s also pretty “healthy” (if you’re into that).
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| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 15 - 25 minutes |
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Cannellini beans flavored with lemon, garlic, chili, and rosemary are stuffed into meaty portabella caps and roasted with Marsala wine for a meal that's not only quick and easy, but also pretty healthy (if you're into that).
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- 4 large portabella mushrooms stems and gills removed
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs divded (see note)
- 2 x 14oz cans cannellini beans drained, rinsed well and patted dry a little
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese grated or finely ground, divided (see note)
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 t-spoon fresh minced rosemary
- 1/2 t-spoon lemon zest
- 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- Heaping 1/4 t-spoon chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Scant 1 t-spoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup dry Marsala
- 1 tablespoon olive oil regular
- 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil regular
- 1-1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch kosher salt
- 4 - 5 ounces baby arugula
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together the garlic, lemon zest and juice, chili flakes, rosemary, parsley, salt, extra virgin olive oil and half the Parmesan.
- Tumble in about half of the beans and, with a fork, smash them until they’re coarsely mashed—not entirely smooth, a little like chunky peanut butter. Fold in the remaining beans. Add half of the breadcrumbs and fold until completely incorporated.
- Evenly distribute the beans to the cleaned-out mushroom caps into mounding piles.
- Mix the remaining Parm and breadcrumbs in a separate bowl and sprinkle over the top of the mushrooms and beans.
- Heat the regular olive oil in either a very large non-stick, and oven-safe pan, or large roasting pan over medium heat and, once hot, carefully place the bellas in. Let them cook for just a minute, giving them a gentle push to make sure they aren’t sticking.
- Shut off the heat and carefully pour in the Marsala, making sure not to get any into or on the mushrooms. Let it bubble up before transferring it to the oven for 15 – 20 minutes (up to 25 if the caps are very thick)—until the mushrooms are tender and the tops of the beans are crisp.
- For the arugula, whisk the lemon juice and salt together and then, slowly add the olive oils, whisking all the while to emulsify. Toss this with the arugula.
- Lay a light bed of baby arugula on your plates and nestle the mushrooms in. Sparingly drizzle the now syrupy Marsala over the leaves and serve immediately.
- If you need this to be truly vegetarian, be sure to use a vegetarian-friendly Parmesan. Parmigiano-Reggiano contains animal rennet so it's not vegetarian. And while we're at it, you could always use vegan Parm to make this a vegan dish.
- The breadcrumbs I use are homemade. That's not as complicated as it sounds; whenever I have a few pieces of bread, a loan English muffin or pita, or any stray bits of bread left over that won't be used or are going stale, I throw them into a low oven to dry out, grind them up and stash them in the freezer in a resealable bag. White, whole wheat, artisan or plastic grocery store bread--doesn't matter, it all works. You can find a "recipe" here. Otherwise, I'd recommend panko over the usual breadcrumbs that come in a canister.
The ingredients do not call for ricotta, but the instructions say to add ricotta with the garlic, etc.
Is this a typo or should there actually be ricotta listed in the ingredients?
We can’t wait to try it?
Oh my gosh, Leslie you’re right! Thanks for letting me know. The original recipe (this post was a revisit/revise… the original is here) included 2 tablespoons of ricotta. When I went to make it again I realized I didn’t have the ricotta but frankly didn’t miss it—the difference is minimal. Point is, if you’ve got ricotta hanging out in the fridge add a spoonful or two, otherwise I wouldn’t go out and buy it just for this. Thanks and let me know what you think!