Vegan for a Day: Artichoke Stuffed Portobellos

Happy Meatless Monday (again)!  I am pretty psyched to be sharing this recipe with you because I'm still thinking about it today--even though we had it last night for dinner. It was that good.

I'm also excited because this recipe came totally from my creative, food-loving brain rather than a simple modification of a recipe I already had.  All of my cooking has really paid off.

***This recipe is a bit more adventurous for non-vegans because it includes tofu cream cheese, vegenaise and nutritional yeast (aka nooch) and vegan parmesan cheese.  While I challenge you to find and use these items, if you simply want to make your Monday meat-less (not vegan), you could use regular cream cheese, mayonnaise, and regular parmesan cheese to replace the nooch/vegan parm.  But I seriously don't think it will be as good.***

Artichoke Stuffed Portobellos
serves 2

INGREDIENTS
 2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed 
4 artichoke hearts, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup red pepper (about half a medium sized pepper), finely chopped
1/2 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
1 heaping Tablespoon nutritional yeast
6 Tablespoons whole wheat breadcrumbs
4 oz. Tofutti Cream Cheese
2 Tablespoons vegenaise (vegan mayo)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

PREPARATION
1. Preheat oven to 350. Remove stems from portobellos and scrub outside of mushroom gently with a damp washcloth to remove any dirt. Place mushrooms on nonstick baking sheet and set aside.
2.  Heat olive oil in large pan.  Add garlic, onion, artichoke, and red pepper.  Saute until tender and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

3.  Combine cream cheese, vegenaise, nutritional yeast, and seasonings in a bowl.  Mix well.
4.  Add cooked veggies and breadcrumbs to the cream cheese mixture and stir until well blended.
5.  Stuff each portobello with the filling. Press down gently after first scoop to fill inside of mushroom. Don't be afraid to heap on top!


6.  Sprinkle tops with vegan parmesan cheese.
7. Place into oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, until tops/parmesan are slightly brown.

 

They were absolutely amazing! So many rich flavors that went well together.  You won't miss the meat at all...trust me.  Q grilled up some zucchini w/ just olive oil, salt and pepper on the side, and we were both extremely full at the end of the meal.

Aurora didn't have a portobello, but instead, indulged in some of her favorite foods: cheese,  hummus (on a tortilla) and peaches.  She tried the zucchini, but wasn't a fan...but she still went meatless!

 

You could also make this filling and fill up a bunch of button mushrooms as an appetizer for a summer party/BBQ (I'm hoping to throw one in the near future and plan on doing this!).

Try it, and I promise you won't regret it!

Bon Appetit,
Amanda