Portobello Parmesan

I am going strong on my healthy kick!  I got my husband eating right and working out as well!  I even had my two year olds doing "excercise, excercise, excercise " to some kids excercise/dance programs On Demand from Comcast yesterday.  Life is good....feeling good....eating good!  So I thought tonight would be a perfect night to try out a new experiment for  Portobello Parmesan! I got the idea a few weeks back when leafing throw my Bon Appetit (Aug. 09).  They had a recipe for a grilled portobello parmesan. Their  recipe called to serve it open face and to just layer the ingredients on top of the mushroom, but come on...you can't call something a "parmesan" dish unless it is ooey and gooey and baked in a casserole dish in the oven!  For my version I really tried to cut down on a lot of the cheese layers and also cut down on the olive oil.  I used some italian turkey sausage to liven up the flavor a bit, added some spinach for health purposes, and used skim milk ricotta cheese to tie it all together. I was really quite pleased with what came out of my oven.  You really want to let the dish sit for at least 10 minutes to gel a bit after coming out of the oven.  The mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach do tend to create a lot of "juice" so use a slotted spoon or spatula to take each piece out of the baking dish. The flavor is outstanding...and get this....I calculated the entire recipe on My Fitness Pal and then divided it by six (it serves 6 people) and each serving is less than 350 calories!  Pair it with a nice side salad and you have a dinner below 400 calories!  Now how can you beat that?

PORTOBELLO PARMESAN 

• 6 large portobello mushrooms - sliced into 1/2 inch thick pieces
• 3 italian turkey sausages - casing removed
• 3 garlic cloves chopped
• 26 oz. can chopped tomatoes
• 6 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 TB. olive oil
• 2 cups skim ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (divided)

• 2 TB. chopped italian parsley
• 2 TB. chopped fresh basil
• 4 cups baby spinach (divided)
• 3 slices fontina cheese
• salt, pepper and crushed red pepper for taste

1. In a large non stick skillet brown the italian turkey sausage ( I did not use any oil and it was just fine.).  Using a spoon or spatula break up the sausage into pieces/crumbles as it cooks. Remove from pan and set aside.

2. Using same skillet add 1 TB. olive oil and heat.  Add chopped garlic.  Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add chopped tomato, canned tomato and salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.  Simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. In the meantime in a medium sized bowl, add ricotta cheese, 1 egg, parsley, basil , salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.

5. In a medium sized baking dish ladle about 1 cup of sauce on the bottom.  Layer the following: portobello mushrooms, ricotta mixture, 2 cups of raw baby spinach, sprinkle of parmesan cheese, tomato sauce mixture.  Repeat one more time and then end with a third layer of mushrooms topped with some sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
6. Bake covered with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees.  Then bake uncovered for 20 more minutes.

7. Take foil off and place the three slices of fontina cheese over the top of the casserole. Turn oven on broil and broil casserole for about 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese on top is melted and golden.
8. Remove from oven and let sit for about 10 to 15 minutes so that it sets.

*Serves 6