Portobello Parmesan hearty takeoff on traditional eggplant dish

Portobello mushrooms add a hearty flavor to pasta in this vegetarian dish. It’s a takeoff on traditional eggplant Parmesan. The meaty mushrooms are dressed in a rich tomato sauce and covered with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

For this quick meal, the entree ingredients are placed in a skillet and cooked in 8 minutes.

The side dish is made with whole wheat linguine. It can be found fresh or dried. Either works well here.

Helpful hints

• Buy good-quality Parmesan cheese in one piece and grate it with a grater or chop it in a food processor. Freeze extra for quick use. You can quickly spoon out what you need and leave the rest frozen.

Countdown

• Put water for pasta on to boil.

• Make portobello parmesan.

• While mushrooms cook, make linguine.

Shopping list

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for tonight’s Dinner in Minutes.

• To buy: 1 package shredded, part-skim milk mozzarella cheese, 1 small package Parmesan cheese, 1 bottle low-sodium pasta sauce, 1 package whole wheat linguine, 1 pound sliced portobello mushrooms and 1 bunch basil.

• Staples: Olive oil, dried oregano, salt and black peppercorns.

Portobello Parmesan

Yield 2 servings.

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer.

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 pound sliced Portobello mushrooms

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1½ cups low-sodium pasta sauce

½ cup shredded, part-skim milk mozzarella cheese

1 cup fresh basil, torn into large pieces

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with the oregano and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the pasta sauce and mix well. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the sauce and cover the skillet with a lid. Simmer 5 minutes to warm the sauce and melt the cheese. Remove from heat and sprinkle basil and Parmesan cheese on top. Serve over the linguine.

Per serving: 308 calories (32 percent from fat), 15.1 g fat (7.4 g saturated, 4.3 g monounsaturated), 40 mg cholesterol, 24.9 g protein, 24.4 g carbohydrates, 5.5 g fiber, 627 mg sodium.

Linguine

Yield 2 servings.

Recipe by Linda Gassenheimer

¼ pound whole wheat linguine

1 teaspoon olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place a large sauce pan with 3 to 4 quarts of water on to boil over high heat. Add linguine to boiling water for 3 minutes if using fresh or 9 minutes if using dry linguine. Drain and toss with olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Place linguine on dinner plates and top with Portobello Parmesan.

Per serving: 231 calories (12 percent from fat), 3.1 g fat (0.5 g saturated, 1.2 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 7.4 g protein, 42.6 g carbohydrates, 1.8 g fiber, 3 mg sodium.