Stuffed Balsamic Portabella Mushrooms

The other night my fiancé had to work late. When he works late, that means I get to cook, create, and eat anything that I want! Since he despises mushrooms and figs I decided to enjoy this one without him :)

You see, I absolutely LOVE figs! They can be added to sweet and savory dishes. They are wonderful fresh and dried, warm and cold. Figs are just tasty no matter what you do with them. I actually just read an article about figs and one man's mission to save unusual figs. Did you know that there are more than 100 varieties of Figs?! Check them out here.

* This recipe is for two servings

Ingredients:

2 large Portabella mushrooms

2 cups of fresh baby spinach

½ cup of quinoa

¼ cup of raw whole hazelnuts

5 black mission figs cut into small pieces (fresh – if you can get your hands on them)

¾ cup of water or stock

3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (approximately 1 ½ tablespoons per shroom)

2 tablespoons of EVOO + a little extra

Sea salt

Directions:

Remove the stem from the Portabella mushrooms and place them on a large plate. Drizzle with EVOO and the balsamic vinegar.  Sprinkle the mushrooms with sea salt and let them rest so the balsamic can seep into the mushrooms.

Start the grill. Once it gets nice and hot, place the portabellas on the grill, top-side down. Let them cook for approximately 5 minutes. Using a tongs, flip the mushrooms and let them cook for an additional 5-10 minutes – or until tender and “meaty.”

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa, cover, and simmer for approximately 15 minutes, or until no water remains and the quinoa is tender but slightly crunchy.

Add the hazelnuts to a hot skillet and toast them for approximately 3 minutes. They should start to smell “nutty.” Transfer the hazelnuts to a small dish and set aside.

Place the spinach in the hot skillet (that you just used for the hazelnuts), drizzle with EVOO, stir and cook until spinach is slightly wilted. Spinach wilts quickly so try not to overcook it.

Add the spinach to the quinoa and stir.

Place the portabella mushrooms on two separate plates. Spoon the quinoa and spinach over the mushrooms and then top with figs and hazelnuts. Enjoy!