Overstuffed portabellas with a side of hearty soup

Mushrooms surprisingly have a lot of health benefits for very little calories... Protein, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium, magnesium, and more.. who knew a fungus could be so good for you? Try this recipe that adds plenty of flavor and even more protein to these delicious portabellas. Depending on how many mushrooms you fill you may have a lot of this protein packed stuffing left over.... mine filled the entire pan! It tastes wonderful on its own too. This recipe also includes an easy addition of soup on the side... perfect for a cold night or one of those sick days.

Ingredients:

6 medium or large portabellas (you could use even more, there is plenty of filling to go around)

1 cup of lentils

large handful of grape tomatoes

¼ of an onion

¼ block of firm sprouted tofu

½ cup olive oil + another ¼ cup

½ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons of fresh garlic or garlic paste

black pepper

mixed spices of your choice

vegan shredded cheese (optional)

*vegetable broth (Optional; depending on if you want soup as a side, and you can use any amount depending on how much soup you want to make)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Create "mushroom" dishes by cutting out stems and scooping out the insides of the mushrooms so they resemble bowls that can hold your filling. Put "mushroom guts" aside in a bowl, or into a sauté pan where they will be cooked later. Place mushrooms in a baking dish.

Create a mixture of ½ cup of olive oil, ½ cup of balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a good shake of black pepper and any additional spices of your choice. This mixture will be the marinade for your mushrooms. Pour generously into and over mushrooms allowing it to flow over and into the pan. (If you use more mushrooms you may need some extra marinade).

When oven is ready, place mushrooms in and bake for 20 minutes. While they are cooking, boil lentils in a pot of water until soft, and sauté together tomatoes, onion, and tofu in remaining olive oil and a generous tablespoon (or more) of garlic. You may also add additional spices. Cook until mixture is well roasted and throughly cooked so the flavors can all be absorbed. Once lentils are soft, mix everything together. 

Once mushrooms have baked for 20 minutes, remove from oven, and fill each mushroom "bowl" with  your lentil and vegetable mixture. Top each mushroom with a bit of vegan cheese of you want. Excess filling can overflow into pan, or can be put into the pot you baked the lentils with, along with your vegetable broth if you choose to make soup as a side. If you have enough you can do a little of both. Place baking dish back in oven and bake mushrooms for an additional 20 minutes. Cook soup on medium-high for about ten minutes so it begins to boil but doesn't boil over. 

Remove mushrooms and allow to cool before eating. Both stuffed mushrooms and the filling alone taste delicious.

Soup can be scooped directly from pot and poured into bowls. Keep on very low heat if you know you'll want seconds.

Enjoy!