Ground Turkey-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

(recipe serving size – up to 8 stuffed mushroom)

For the ground turkey:

1 1/4 lb ground turkey

1 medium sweet onion, diced

2 jalapeños, seeded and sliced

1/3 cup parsley, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tb olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and jalapeños for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the garlic and parsley. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes.

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the ground turkey, additional salt and smoked paprika. Break up the turkey with a spoon, folding in the onions and peppers. Brown the turkey for 5 minutes.

1/2 cup white wine

28 oz whole peeled tomatoes

Deglaze the pan with the white wine and add the tomatoes. Lower the heat to medium-low. Crush the tomatoes gently into the pan (still leaving them in large chunks) and simmer vibrantly with the lid on for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, raise heat to medium and simmer for another 10 minutes.

For the mushrooms:

8 portobello mushroom caps

1 tb olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Clean the caps and gently scrape out the insides. Combine the oil with the salt, pepper and paprika and brush the tops with the seasoned oil. Bake the mushroom caps with their tops facing upward for 5 minutes. Turn mushrooms over and roast for another 5 minutes.

Combining the filling and the mushrooms:

1/3 cup pecorino romano, grated

After the mushrooms have baked for 10 minutes, remove the mushrooms from the oven and drain the liquid given off by the mushrooms from the pan. With a slotted spoon, scoop 1/2 cup of the ground turkey mixture into each cap, making sure to press out as much of the liquid from each helping as possible (leave the liquid in the pan). Top the filling in each mushroom with the pecorino and bake for another 10 minutes.

For the sauce:

1/4 cup mascarpone

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Whisk the mascarpone and paprika into the sauce left behind from the turkey. Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened (about 5 minutes).

Bringing it all together:

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Place the mushroom caps on a large plate. Drizzle with the prepared sauce and garnish with the parsley. Serve while warm.

Creative liberties:

• For extra decadence, add 1/2 cup of mascarpone cheese directly to the ground turkey after you’ve given the protein time to simmer with the wine and tomatoes. And for good measure, top each stuffed mushroom with a small dollop of mascarpone. Doing this will remove the need to create a sauce after the ground turkey is loaded into the mushrooms.
• To lighten things up, omit the mascarpone altogether and allow the leftover liquid from the ground turkey to reduce and fortify. Use that to top the mushrooms after you have filled them with the ground turkey mixture.