Quinoa is a favorite side dish at our house. We first tasted it at the Plaza Cafe in Santa Fe, where none of the staff could spell “quinoa” for us, let alone describe it in detail. Higher in protein than most varieties of rice, it’s healthy and nutritious.
When the friendly folks at Bob’s Red Mill offered me some of their Tri-Color Quinoa, I happily accepted a bag. Next, I began to plot what to make first. Hmm…
I wanted to make a vegetarian dish that would be healthy, low sodium and substantial enough to serve as an entrée. There were two meaty Portobello mushrooms in the fridge, so I decided to come up with a simple stuffing, making quinoa the star ingredient.
The hardest part of this post was researching the correct spelling of “Portobello”. People seem to have strong opinions on “Portobello” versus “Portabella”. How do you spell it?
TIP: Omit the Parmesan and you have a vegan entrée.
I was not compensated for writing this post and/or developing my recipe.
- 1 cup low sodium vegetable stock
- ½ cup Bob's Red Mill Tri-color Quinoa
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 2 large Portobello mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 cremini or button mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
- 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 scallions, chopped, white and light green portions only
- 3 tablespoons chopped orange or red sweet bell pepper
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch ground white pepper
- 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
- chopped fresh dill (optional garnish)
- grated Parmesan cheese (optional garnish)
- Using a medium-sized saucepan, heat the stock until it boils. Add the quinoa, cumin and salt, stir and cover. Reduce heat to low and cook until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest, covered.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Rub each Portobello top with about half a tablespoon of olive oil Place the mushrooms, top side down, on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, keeping the oven temperature at 350, and allow to rest while you make the stuffing.
- Using a medium-sized skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chopped mushrooms, tomatoes, scallions and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the garlic, dill, salt and pepper and cook for 1 more minute.
- Remove from heat, stir in the cooked quinoa and Parmesan. Mix well and top each Portobello with half the stuffing.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Garnish with parsley and Parmesan and serve.
Oh this is right down my alley! I love this – and it’s such a gorgeous photo, Liz!!
Thanks, Susan, this is definitely your kind of recipe –
Love the looks of this!
Thanks, Dorothy – come over for left-overs 😉
Ah. The edible bowl! GREG
I thought about doing this with tomatoes, Greg, but will wait until they are in season.
Great photo Liz, I am the only one that will eat Quinoa here at my house 🙁 Your recipe looks really tasty. I have red quinoa right now in the panty and I am very tempted!
Larry just eats what I put in front of him – love red quinoa.
Love this Liz! I love both “Portobello” mushrooms and quinoa, just my kind of dish!
I hope you try it, almost-birthday-girl.
Liz, I love this recipe. Portobello’s are so meaty and delicious and I love the quinoa stuffing. Making this recipe this week. I think I am the only person in the world that is not crazy about quinoa but I think this recipe will change that, I happen to have the Bob’s tri color quinoa in the pantry, Can’t wait to give this a try.
Maybe try a creamier cheese like Gruyere? The texture of quinoa sometimes turns people off –
This looks like an awesome vegetarian treat, and I LOVE the pic!
Thanks, Steve, food gawker really stunned me: “Grainy and poor quality photo” – who knows?
This looks wonderful – I love quinoa and stuffing the mushrooms is brilliant. Perfect for a veggie dinner.
Thanks, Lynda – we need to eat more vegetarian entrées at our house.