Mmm, pesto!  I’ve sung its praises before, but I really have yet to exhaust its culinary potential.  Here, it adds flavor and a nutritional boost to brown rice stuffed portobello mushrooms.  The protein-rich cashew cream sauce rounds out this dish, which works equally well as a side dish or a vegetarian entree.

A note about mushrooms: look for mushrooms with their whitish underside intact, like the mushroom on the right in the photo in the top left corner. The mushroom on the left, which has a gap that shows its gills, is still good, but not quite as fresh.

Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms with Marsala Cream Sauce

For the mushrooms:

6 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

3 cups cooked brown basmati rice

1 cup homemade pesto

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1 large, ripe tomato

For the cream sauce:

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 red onion

1 tsp olive oil

1/4 cup Marsala wine

1 cup vegetable broth

1/4 tsp salt

Soak raw cashews in 1 cup cold water for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.  Lay out the mushrooms, top sides down.

Combine the pesto and cooked brown rice.  Add the egg and broth, and mix until well combined.  Spoon 1/2 cup of filling into each mushroom cap.  Slice the tomato and top each stuffed mushroom with 1 slice of tomato.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the onion.  Heat the oil in a skillet over low to medium-low heat and sweat the onion until translucent, about 10 minutes.  Raise the heat to medium-high and add the Marsala.  Simmer until the wine has reduced to almost nothing.  Add broth and salt, and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Drain the soaking cashews.  Combine cashews and hot broth mixture in a high-powered blender and puree until velvety smooth.

Serve the stuffed mushrooms warm, with cashew cream sauce on the side or drizzled over top.