Kale-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

You know how sometimes you meet someone and if feels as if you’ve known that person for years? During my first weekend of blogging, I struck up a conversation about vegetarian cooking with Valerie from Eclecticisms and we’ve been emailing back and forth since then. We decided to do a veggie cooking challenge–this month’s theme was casseroles. Mmm, casseroles. Growing up in the Midwest, casseroles are an inescapable part of life. And just so you know, no casserole is complete without a can of soup and copious amounts of cheese.

So anyway! I chose a casserole recipe for Val to remake and she chose a recipe for me to makeover–Chicken Florentine Casserole. As you can see from the original recipe, it’s pretty fattening. Oh, and then there’s the chicken and the canned soup and cheese that’s de rigueur for most casseroles.  Making this recipe vegetarian and lighter really was a challenge.

Because I’m not much of a spinach fan, I decided to use kale instead. We can all agree that kale is way better than spinach, right? It’s not slimy! And it’s delicious! Clearly chicken wasn’t going to work in this recipe either, so I used portobello mushrooms instead. Then, in place of the cream of mushroom soup, I added milk and flour–that way, the end result is lighter and it has far less sodium.

In the end, I guess these Kale-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms really don’t resemble the original Chicken Florentine Casserole in any way, shape, or form. But that’s okay, because they’re tasty, healthy, and filling too.

Kale-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

These Kale-Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms are a lighter, healthier remake of Chicken Florentine.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4

Ingredients

• 4 large portobello mushrooms
• cooking spray or olive oil mister
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch kale (about 8 ounces)
• 1/3 c. white wine
• 2/3 c. low-fat milk
• 1 tbsp. flour
• 1 c. Italian blend or mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 c. panko

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray tops of mushrooms with olive oil. Place bottom side up on a large rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic; sauté until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add kale and wine, increase heat to high.
4. Once wine has cooked off (about 3 minutes), add milk and flour. Return heat to medium and cook until sauce has thickened, 3-4 minutes more. Remove from heat.
5. Divide kale mixture into mushrooms. Top each with 1/4 cup of cheese. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Combine panko and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small bowl while mushrooms are baking. Top each mushroom with 1 tablespoon of panko mixture and return to oven for another 5-8 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender and panko is golden brown.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 mushroom