Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

As I mention in my Watermelon Salsa post, I visited the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin for my wedding anniversary.  I was blown away by the delicious French food all over the island…béchamel, crêpes, gruyère, oh my!  I fell in love with a crêpe from a local bakery/café called Café Atlantico.

They have a crêpe called the Contandina, which features a delicious spinach, mushroom, béchamel and gruyère cheese filling.  Let’s just say I had this thing for breakfast 3 days in a row, and I could literally have this for breakfast every day for the rest of my life and die happy.

 I came back dreaming of that flavor combination, and then I remembered that I have an awesome stuffed mushroom recipe in my culinary repertoire.   I usually make it with Parmesan cheese, so for this recipe, I substituted gruyère with delish results.

1 link spicy Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
10 ounces baby portabello mushrooms, stems removed and reserved
3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup gruyere cheese, shredded
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
Olive oil spray
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Spray a sheet pan with olive oil spray, and place your mushroom cups with the stem side facing up.

Roast the mushrooms for 10-15 minutes, until the caps fill with liquid.  Then, turn them over, spilling the liquid onto the  sheet pan.  Cook the mushrooms for another 10 minutes, until the water evaporates.

Doing this will prevent your mushrooms from being too watery when you stuff them.

Set the cooked mushrooms aside while you make your filling.

 To make the filling, saute the turkey sausage in a non-stick pan, until the sausage is browned and cooked through.  Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and set it aside to cool.

In the same pan, saute the minced garlic clove and spinach with some olive oil spray, until the spinach is wilted and the liquid has evaporated from the pan.  Remove the cooked spinach and garlic from the pan and set it aside to cool.

Finally, finely chop up the reserved mushroom stems and saute them with some olive oil spray, until they’re browned and cooked through.

Combine the sausage, spinach, mushroom stems, cream cheese, gruyere, parsley and 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs in a bowl, and stir to combine.  Check the mixture for seasoning, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 Stuff the mushrooms with a heaping spoonful of the filling, depending on how big they are, you’ll use varying amounts of filling per mushroom.  Sprinkle the mushrooms with the remaining breadcrumbs.

 Switch the oven to broil and broil the mushrooms at 375F for 5-7 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. I’ll bet you can’t eat just one!

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Spinach and Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 link spicy Italian turkey sausage casing removed
• 10 ounces baby portabello mushrooms stems removed and reserved
• 3 cups fresh spinach chopped
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup gruyere cheese shredded
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
• 2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
• Olive oil spray
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Spray a sheet pan with olive oil spray, and place the mushroom caps onto the pan with the stem side facing up.
3. Roast the mushrooms for 10-15 minutes, until the caps fill with liquid. Then turn them over, spilling the liquid onto the sheet pan. Cook the mushrooms for another 10 minutes, until the liquid evaporates.
4. Remove the mushrooms for the oven and set aside while you make your filling.
5. To make the filling, saute the turkey sausage in a non-stick pan, until the sausage is browned and cooked through. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and set it aside to cool.
6. In the same pan, saute the minced garlic clove and spinach, until the spinach is wilted and the liquid has evaporated from the pan. Remove the cooked spinach and garlic from the pan and set it aside to cool.
7. Finally, finely chop up the reserved mushroom stems and saute them, until they’re browned and cooked through.
8. Combine the sausage, spinach, mushroom stems, cream cheese, gruyere, parsley and 1 tablespoon of breadcrumbs in a bowl, and stir to combine. Check the mixture for seasoning, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Stuff the mushrooms with a heaping spoonful of the filling, depending on how big they are, you’ll use varying amounts of filling per mushroom. Sprinkle the mushrooms with the remaining breadcrumbs.
10. Switch the oven to broil and broil the mushrooms at 375 F for 5-7 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.