Kick off the spring/summer with this delicious roasted portobello mushroom with a light, tangy and slightly spicy shrimp ‘n tomato bruschetta topping. It doesn’t taste any fresher than this!
As soon as the weather takes a turn for warmer days, I’m all about the fresher and lighter meals. Since we’ve been doing the Whole30 program (see why here) I’ve been eating a lot more meat than I normally do. And, while I absolutely love meat and couldn’t imagine turning vegetarian any time soon, I do occasionally just need a break from it. That’s how these gorgeous stuffed portobellos came into play.
I was looking for a lighter meal option while we were doing the Whole30 when I came across some fresh huge portobello mushrooms in the store. I almost never pass up some fresh mushrooms and so I grabbed a couple not knowing what I was going to make with them. In the past I’ve stir fried them, grilled portobellos and stuffed them with pizza toppings, I’ve also stuffed them with rice and cheese and baked them before. But, without the cheese….hmmmm…what do I do with them?
That’s when I decided to simply roast the mushroom and have it with some fresh tomato bruschetta. However, to make a more substantial dinner, I thought of throwing some shrimp (the quickest thing I had to defrost) into the mix and seeing how it turned out. It was delicious! The mushroom was meaty and juicy, and topped with the tangy fresh tomato and shrimp it was the perfect spring meal I was craving for. I just wanted to eat it over and over. And the fact that it was so simple to make…I will probably make and eat this dish many more times over this spring/summer. It would taste even better with the mushroom grilled on a barbecue and then topped with the shrimp bruschetta! Now I’m excited.
Here’s how you can make it too…
- 2 large portobello mushrooms
- 8-12 medium shrimp (about 4-6 per mushroom)
- 2 tomatoes (about 1 medium tomato per mushroom)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1-2 tbsp fresh chopped basil
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Salt & crushed black pepper, according to taste
- 1/2 tsp (or less) crushed red pepper flakes
- 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- - Start by making the tomato bruschetta topping: Dice the tomatoes into small bite size pieces. Chiffonade (the fancy term for stacking the leaves, rolling them tightly...then slicing them into thin long strips) the basil and add it to the diced tomatoes.
- - Peel and finely mince the garlic. Add about 1/2 tsp of the garlic to the tomato and basil mixture...reserving the rest for the shrimp and mushrooms.
- - Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper (to taste), a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle (about 1/2 - 1 tbsp) of extra virgin olive oil and mix everything well together. Let the tomatoes sit in this juicy mixture to absorb the flavors while you prepare the mushrooms and shrimp.
- - Pre-heat your oven to 450F. Clean your mushrooms by removing the stalk (save them to stir fry with the shrimp later) and if you want, scrape out the gills with a spoon (optional, it's not necessary). Rinse or clean the mushroom of any dirt.
- - Then simple drizzle a little bit of olive oil and season the mushroom generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp of the finely diced garlic into the cavity of the mushroom, place them on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven for 10-12 mins.
- - While the mushrooms are roasting, trim and dice the mushroom stalks. Also dice up the shrimp into the same small bite size pieces as the tomato. (I left 2 whole for the garnish)
- - Heat a tbsp of olive olive in a sautee pan on medium high heat, add all the remaining garlic and let it flavor the oil and let it sizzle for a few seconds, then add the diced mushroom stalks and shrimp stirring to coat everything with the oil and garlic.
- - Add 1/2 tsp (or less if you don't like spice) of crushed red pepper flakes and season with salt. Stir fry the shrimp for 2-4 minutes until they turn opaque and pink. Turn off the heat.
- - To assemble simply spoon some of the shrimp and tomato mixture into the cavity of the shrimp, drizzling the tomato juices in there too.
- - Garnish with a sprig of fresh basil and the whole shrimp (if you want). Dig in and enjoy! mmmmm....