Kale is my favorite vegetable. You can eat it raw, sautéed, or, like in this recipe, stuffed into a meaty mushroom cap, doused with a healthy dairy-free, oil-free aioli sauce.
Kale is a great source of vitamins A and K and beta-carotene, and mushrooms offer vitamin D, an often-hard vitamin to get if you’re a pure plant eater. Chockfull of veggies and extremely low in calories, this quick dinner will have carnivores and vegans alike coming back for seconds.
Kale-Stuffed Mushrooms
Serves 2
For the mushrooms:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 head kale, rinsed and chopped
2 ears corn, stripped
2 tomatoes, chopped
Cumin, for seasoning
1 Tbsp coconut oil
3 large portobellos, stems removed
For the sauce:
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup lemon zest
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp fresh thyme (optional)
1. In a large pan over medium heat, add a couple tablespoons water and bell pepper. Gradually add veggies, finishing with kale, and cook, covered, until tender, about 6 minutes. Add cumin.
2. While veggies are cooking, heat grill pan with a bit of coconut oil over medium. Cook mushroom caps 2 to 3 minutes per side.
3. In a blender, mix aoli ingredients.
4. Stuff mushrooms with veggies and spoon sauce over top.
Mushrooms are coming into season. Head here for more recipes.
Rea Frey runs her own food blog, Clean Convenient Cuisine, hosted by Chicago Tribune. She also writes a vegan and relationship column for Cheeky Chicago and is the senior editor of Chic Galleria. As a certified personal trainer and nutrition expert, Rea has helped countless individuals reach their nutrition and fitness goals by simplifying their lifestyles and breaking that "diet" mentality. A regular contributer on WGN radio, she discusses food and relationships and hopes to help bring simple solutions to any lifestyle problem. Her book, The Cheat Sheet: A Clue-by-Clue Guide to Finding Out If He's Unfaithful (Adams Media) will be released this summer.
