Spongy fungus. I love it. White button. Oyster. Shitake. Maitake. Morels. Cremini. I love all types of mushrooms. But the ones that get my mouth watering for the meaty texture and earthy flavor most often are the big, beautiful Portabellas. Drizzled with some olive oil and tossed on the grill, they make a perfect meatless meal all on their own. But when stuffed with other goodies, well, shut the front door–and get out of my way. You could lose a digit if you’re not careful around me and these beauties.
Luckily, we live about an hour away from a fantastic mushroom farm, and it happens to be in the same town as my in-laws. Score! Even better? The farm folks are regulars at the big farmer’s market that I love to hit whenever I can. Kitchen Pride Mushroom Farm has flavorful, perfect mushrooms whenever I have a hankerin’ for them.
Now for that stuffing. Another item that I am newly enamored with is cauliflower. That simple-looking, tightly-packed head of white florets seems boring to most (me included until recently!), but I am finding all kinds of ways to make–and fall in love with–this ingredient. I made a cauliflower soup not long ago for friends, and MAN it was delicious. So it was only a matter of time before I got on the bandwagon with the multitude of other ways to use this grocery store staple.
The other day as I was tooling around Pinterest (OK, who am I kidding? I fell into the rabbit hole that is Pinterest, and luckily came up in time for dinner), and found this intriguing recipe from the Tasting Page. As luck would have it, I had everything I needed sitting in my kitchen and pantry. Yahoo!
This two-in-one recipe may just become my go-to side for just about everything for awhile. Cauliflower that acts like rice? OK. Throw in goat cheese and pine nuts? Of course! Cauliflower “Rice” Stuffed Portabellas? Um, yes please!
The texture of the “rice” is almost like breadcrumbs at times, and really gives you a feeling of being full–which is just what this healthy side dish is meant to do. The crunchiness of the <strong>toasted pine nuts</strong> is a great counterpoint to the soft and fluffy “rice”. And of course, <strong>goat cheese</strong> adds a wonderful creaminess and sharp flavor.
I dare you not to fall in love with this <strong>Cauliflower “Rice” Stuffed Portabella</strong> dish! De-lish!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 people | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 15 minutes |
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This is so simple that you may find yourself making a big batch of the "rice" and adding new ingredients to it each time you eat it throughout the week. Because cauliflower tends to take on the flavors of other ingredients, this is a chameleon of a recipe. Cheese & nuts? Fresh herbs and lemon zest? Garlic & crushed red pepper? Sun dried tomatoes and basil? You see what I mean? This goes with--and on--everything.
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- 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 4 large portabella caps, cleaned
- 4 tbsp. goat cheese
- 4 tbsp. pine nuts, divided
- 1 tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
- Get out that food processor, and get ready to make some "rice" for a family meal.
- Chop cauliflower florets into large chunks so that they easily process when you make the "rice".
- Place cauliflower into food processor with chopping blade in the bottom.
- Pulse cauliflower until it resembles small grains of rice or couscous. Do not over process as you don't want a mushy cauliflower mixture.
- Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium high heat. Saute onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add cauliflower "grains" and salt & pepper to taste. Stir to incorporate. Pat the mixture into a flat layer in the skillet. Cover and cook 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. You want to the cauliflower mixture to begin to brown and get some color. This will also bring out the nutty flavor of the ingredients.
- Stir in goat cheese and pine nuts to cauliflower mixture. Remove from heat.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I used a toaster oven, which preheats much faster than the full-sized oven. Clean the mushroom caps. Start by removing the stems, and then clean mushroom caps by brushing off any excess dirt from cap with a moist (not wet) paper towel.
- Using a spoon, carefully scrape out the "gills" of the mushrooms, discarding them.
- Drizzle the mushroom caps with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
- Cook in preheated 400 degree oven for 7-10 minutes until the edges of the mushrooms begin to pucker. Drain any excess moisture from the caps.
- Stuff each mushroom cap with 1/4 - 1/2 cup of the cauliflower mixture. Top with additional pine nuts and parsley.
- Place mushrooms back into oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the tops begin to brown.
- Serve either as a meatless main dish, or as a side dish. It was a perfect compliment for grilled chicken. Yum!
If you have extra cauliflower "rice", refrigerate for up to a week. You can reheat and add other ingredients depending on what you're serving it with.
The texture of the "rice" is almost like breadcrumbs at times, and really gives you a feeling of being full--which is just what this healthy side dish is meant to do. The crunchiness of the toasted pine nuts is a great counterpoint to the soft and fluffy "rice". And of course, goat cheese adds a wonderful creaminess and sharp flavor.
I dare you not to fall in love with this Cauliflower "Rice" Stuffed Portabella dish! De-lish!
This looks so delicious! I must try making cauliflower rice…it’s such a great idea!
I have a thing for stuffed vegetables. And this one looks super simple and super delicious. Must try!
I simply must try this. Cauliflower is one of the few vegetables my hubby like. #laceyslegacy
I just made portobello pizzas the other day, and cauliflower crust pizzas yesterday. Combining the two seems so obviously but I never would have thought of it! Great recipe!