Kale & Feta Portobello Caps

Along with our cabbage side dish, I made baked portobello caps. They look kinda fancy, but they were super quick to make. This whole meal came together in about 40 minutes, most of which was baking time.

I don't like my portobellos to be too juicy, so I prefer to bake or grill them with the gill side down first to cook off some of the juices. After that, I turn them over, top them, & bake them a little longer until heated through.  The Bup likes his a little juicer, so when he's grilling, he'll keep mine gill side down for almost the entire cooking time.

Since kale really shrinks when it cooks, I pre-cooked it prior to topping the mushroom caps. That way it would stay on easier & I could fit more on there. It also cut down on the baking time, since the kale mixture just needed to be heated instead of complete cooking.

This meal had a lot of flavors, but they went so well together! It was surprisingly warming, which made for a perfect dinner on a crisp fall night.

Kale & Feta Portobello Caps

Serves 2-3

3 large portobello caps, washed & destemmed (save the stems)

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

3 leaves of kale, destemmed & chopped

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

3 T feta cheese, divided

3 tsp. Balsamic vinegar, divided

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Place mushroom caps gill side down on the baking sheet & bake for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, chop the stems that you removed from the caps. Cook stems, garlic, & kale in a skillet over medium heat until the kale is wilted. Add red pepper flakes if desired.

Remove baked caps from the oven & drain juices from the baking sheet. Turn the caps over so they are gill side up. Top with equal parts of the kale mixture. Then add 1 T feta cheese & 1 tsp. Balsamic vinegar each. Return to oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until heated through. They can be served now, or placed under the broiler for about 3 minutes to lightly brown the feta cheese (highly suggested!). Enjoy!