Portobello mushrooms are hearty and dense enough to create a good base for mini pizzas and their rich earthy taste pairs well with lots of different stuffings. They are matured crimini (a.k.a. button) mushrooms, and they contain a range of vitamins and minerals (especially selenium, copper, potassium and phosphorus) and are very supportive for the health of white blood cells, and consequently a healthy immune system. Merguez is a long and thin lamb sausage, used in Moroccan and other Northern African cuisines, and is usually flavored with smokey cumin and spicy harissa. Lamb isn’t as common as other red meats here in North America, I think mostly because it can be difficult to cook, but when ground for fresh sausage it is much less intimidating to use. It is an abundant source of easily absorbable protein, iron, zinc and B12 but just like with beef, when it is grass fed and grass finished it will contain the most nutrients and higher ratios of healthy fats. Unfortunately merguez can be a bit hard to find, so a good quality chorizo or pepperoni sticks can be substituted.
- 6 raw merguez sausages (makes around 2 cups once cooked and chopped)
- 4 portobello mushrooms, stem removed and gills scraped out with a spoon
- ¾ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons parmesan, freshly grated
- 1 large roma tomato, chopped finely
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
- 1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 dash each of sea salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 325°. Place the sausages on a parchment lined baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes, flipping them after 10. Remove them from the oven and increase the oven heat to 400°. Place the mushroom caps on a parchment sheet with the open cavity facing up. Combine the olive oil and balsamic and use a pastry brush (or your fingers) to coat the opening and sides of the mushrooms, then place in the oven to cook for 7 minutes. Once the sausage is cool enough to handle chop it into small pieces and combine in a medium bowl with the tomato sauce, ¼ cup of the parmesan, the tomato, the egg, the parsley and salt and pepper. When the mushroom caps are done, use a piece of paper towel to soak up any liquid that has pooled in the middle of the open cavity then use your hands to divide the merguez mixture into four and pile it into each mushroom. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of parmesan on top and bake for 15 minutes.
