Exotic Mushroom Salad          print recipe | close window    

Marinating the mushrooms for 8 hours gives them a lot more flavor, though as little as 1 hour will do.

Salad Ingredients:
Balsamic dressing*
6 cups sliced mushrooms (about 1 pound)
4 medium portobello mushrooms, sliced
Vegetable cooking spray
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, drained
8 cups mixed greens
4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted

Combine Balsamic Dressing with mushrooms in a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Seal, and marinate mushroom mixture in refrigerator 1-8 hours. Remove mushrooms from bag, reserving Balsamic Dressing.
Place mushrooms on broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and broil 7 minutes or until browned. Combine mushrooms, reserved marinade, and beans in a bowl; toss gently.

Place 2 cups salad greens on each of 4 plates. Spoon 1 1/2 cups mushroom mixture over each salad, and top each with 1 teaspoon toasted pine nuts.

Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION FACTS per 1 serving: 253 calories, 8.9 g fat (1.1 g saturated fat, 4.7 monosaturated fat, 1.6 g polysaturated fat), 12.8 g protein, 0.0 mg cholesterol, 87 mg calcium, 241 mg sodium, 4.2 g fiber, 6.1 mg iron, 32 g carbohydrate.

*Balsamic Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon minced fresh or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir well.

Makes 3/4 cup

NUTRITION FACTS per 1 serving: 61 calories, 5.6 g fat (0.7 g saturated fat, 4 g monosaturated fat, 0.5 g polysaturated fat), 0.3 g protein, 0.0 mg cholesterol, 13 mg calcium, 226 mg sodium, 0.3 g fiber, 0.4 g iron, 2.1 g carbohydrate