I found a recipe for Samosa Inspired Quinoa Stuffed Portabellas.  I almost flipped past the recipe given the lengthy title.  But, the recipe intrigued me so I pushed on. Taken individually, I really liked each part of the title of this recipe….

• Samosa equals Indian spices which I love.
• Quinoa equals super grain which is always a bonus.
• Portabellas equals, well, just delicious.

Then came my hesitancy, because, taken individually, I was not so keen with other parts of the title of this recipe…

• Samosa also equals pie crust and you all know I don’t do pie crust.
• Stuffed sounds like extra work and I like easy peasy.

Weighing both sides, I decided to forge ahead and make these but with my own twist.  I re-tooled the title to call it “Indian spiced quinoa over portabellas”.  That way, I didn’t have the whole pie crust thing looming over me.  I also thought, why stuff when you can layer which is so much easier! And so, here it is Indian spiced quinoa over portabella mushrooms.   It’s a winner – enjoy!

Ingredients

6 Portabella mushrooms
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
1 cup dry quinoa
1 medium onion
2 medium carrots
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp ginger, minced
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 can chickpeas
Sharp cheddar or other cheese for topping

Method

Clean portabellas with damp paper towel, cut off stems and scrape out black gills. Coat both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on oiled baking sheet, underside up and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Rinse quinoa thoroughly and cook according to package directions.

Heat olive oil in heavy bottomed skillet. Saute onion and carrot until softened (maybe 7 – 8 minutes). Add ginger and cook 2-3 more minutes. Add spices and toss to coat. Add chickpeas (you can mash them a bit if you like). Stir in cilantro.

Spoon veggie mixture over cooked portabellas, sprinkle with cheese and put back in oven until for 20 minutes. Oh and the quinoa that falls off the mushrooms will be extra crispy – this is a huge bonus (save this part for yourself!)