A Vegan Meal- Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

I have a slight obsession with mushrooms. Maybe it is because they are a whole natural food that easily takes the place of meat in my book. They have a meaty texture, a very savory flavor, they are cheap and easy to find. I buy them every. single. week. Sometimes I get them  from the farmers market, sometimes the grocery store. My favorites are shitake and oyster mushrooms, but I am not all that picky, as long as they are fresh (canned mushrooms- why? gross.) This week we bought cremini at the farmers market (all they had left- to be used in a future recipe) and portabellos at the grocery store. Tonight I used the portabellos and topped them with a stuffing of sorts. Yum. (As you might have noticed, I am on a stuffed food kick.)

I found various recipes for stuffed portabellos- great for inspiration, but none was super healthy-sounding. I was looking for veggies, no butter or cheese, a whole grain (no bread crumbs), and quick. So this is what I came up with!

Portabello mushrooms (we used 3)
barley- 2 cups dry
2 zucchini chopped
red onion chopped
parsley
salt
pepper
coconut  oil
olive oil
2 garlic cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle olive oil in a lasagna pan, clean the portabellos and remove stems, and place the caps bottom side up in the pan.

Saute red onion, garlic, mushroom stems and zucchini, seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley, in coconut oil over medium heat.

Boil the barley until tender but still chewy. When cooked, drain and mix in sauteed vegetables. Stir in olive oil  to moisten.

Spoon the mixture on the caps, heaping them high. Put the mushrooms in the top one third of oven for 20 minutes or until mushrooms are fork tender.

Since this was a first for me (making stuffed mushrooms) I wanted to keep it super simple. I think some variations I might try next time include replacing the barley with quinoa or coucous (the barley doesn't clump together) and increasing the vegetables (maybe some carrots, chopped squash, chopped spinach or other greens.) I might also add lentils.

Still- we were practically licking the plates, and my toddler Aurelia kept saying, "NOM!" (Her way of saying, "more please!" No idea where she learned that.)

PS the picture is terrible, I know, but all I had available was the phone.