Egg stuffed portobello mushroom makes a wonderful breakfast, a delicious brunch, a filling lunch or a meatless dinner. It’s easy and quick to make yet rich in protein and flavour, topped with homemade spinach pesto.
I love mushrooms. And portobello is a lovely mushroom to include in your diet. In fact, it is one of the most widely consumed mushrooms in the world. These mushrooms are larger than common mushrooms, such as champignon or button mushroom. At a young stage, they can be either white or brown. Also, depending on the colour their name changes, too. For instance, white ones are called champignons, while browns are called crimini or cremini.
And, in a mature state (just like this one in the recipe) they have white, firm flesh and a lovely brown colour cap with a diameter of 10-15 cm. It’s a big mushroom. Wink. At this point, they are called portobello mushrooms. Uhh, almost a science.
Now, that we know which mushroom is which, let’s talk about its flavour. The portobello mushroom has a meaty and chewy texture and it comes with an earthy and slight smoky flavour. Besides being delicious and fulfilling, it’s also rich in plant-based proteins and many nutrients. They are also known as natural cancer-fighters and protectors of our immune system, too.
Additionally, they are a great substitute for meat and they make a wonderful meal for vegetarians and meat lovers, too. They are very easy to digest, unlikely some legumes. And, they are perfect to hold up an egg. Wink.
Baked egg in a mushroom is simply a delicious and easy meal. Like I said. I love mushrooms. You can use them in sauces, soups, risottos (just like my penny bun barley), along with meat, tossed with noodles, you can bake them, saute or grill. So cool!
Besides mushrooms, also eggs are very versatile. Check out these egg recipes to get inspired: egg stuffed meatloaf, a wonderful shakshuka (also great for breakfast), a broccoli egg salad or a special Easter egg salad in a croissant, a classic French omelette or a typical Scotch egg. And I didn’t even mention all of them.
Ingredients for egg stuffed portobello mushroom:
- 1 large portobello mushroom
- olive oil
- salt
- 1 egg
- a couple of small tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)
- 2 handfuls of fresh spinach
- 1 garlic clove (sliced)
- half of a lemon
- 2 olives (sliced)
- 1 Tbsp of pine nuts
To begin, clean the portobello mushroom. Using a kitchen brush, brush off all of the small dirt particles and with a carving knife, cut off the stem (keeping the cap intact). Clean the stem and cut it into smaller pieces.
Preheat the oven to 180º C. Then, wash the tomato or a couple of cherry tomatoes and the fresh spinach leaves. Slice the olives and a garlic clove, as well.
Furthermore, place the tomatoes, mushroom stem and portobello mushroom (stem-side up) in a baking pan lined with baking paper, sprinkle with some sea salt and drizzle it with some olive oil. Carefully crack an egg into the portobello cap, add the olives, season with pepper and put in the oven for 15 -20 minutes or until the egg is set.
In the meantime, prepare the spinach pesto. In order to make that, take half of the spinach and put it into a food processor (you can use an immersion blender as well) together with garlic, salt, pine nuts, lemon juice and olive oil. Blend until smooth and put aside.
In conclusion, gently toss the spinach leaves with olive oil, vinegar and some salt. Nicely arrange it on a plate, add the burst tomato and the egg stuffed portobello mushroom. As the final touch, drizzle with homemade spinach pesto. A wonderful vegetarian meal.
Enjoy!
