It's here. The day of the week my husband fears the most...meatless monday. Though, I've yet to prepare a meal that he doesn't scarf back!
My mushroom story begins by growing up in a household that was mushroom-free. My mother, despises some of the strangest food (pizza, for instance) and mushrooms were on her do-not-consume list. To be fair to momsie, she dislikes the texture of cooked mushrooms. She claims that they're slimy and flavourless but says she'll eat them raw (I've yet to see it). I remember living with my mom and my little brother when I was a kid and my step-dad brought over what looked like a bucket full of mould, and put it to "grow" in our "yard"(a cement pad, 3" of grass and a 60 foot, unfenced embankment - I'll leave the embankment for another day). He informed us all that they were mushrooms in manure (poop...mushrooms grow in poop) and that they would get bigger. I am not exactly sure what he was going for...but I can tell you that all we did was watch them rot.
When I moved out on my own, I avoided mushrooms. You know how it is when you're 19 and on your own...if you actually eat dinner, yay! And if it happens to be while seated at a kitchen table, that's seriously amazing. It took me awhile to find my cooking niches. Many of my friends have suffered through my early creations, apologies.
Fast forward 14 years and I am in a grocery store and broke. Mushrooms were cheap. Enter me, putting mushrooms in bloody everything. Since then, me and mushrooms have been good - though they're still estranged from my mom. Kind of like me and Bacardi...again...another day.
That's enough about me, let's talk portobello...
What you'll need:
2 portobello mushrooms, remove stem and gills with a spoon (organic if possible...you know what...instead of me writing that, let's just go ahead and say that EVERY vegetable you use should be organic, if possible. No need to lecture me on the prices of them either, I get it. But if you watch the flyers, you'd be surprised at how much organic produce goes on sale! These were on sale at our grocery store this week!)
1 large pepper, sliced (dealer's choice...any colour works fine!)
1 small head of garlic, diced
3 white mushrooms, sliced
1 hot pepper, sliced (I used a medium salsa pepper, but you can get crazy here...if you like heat, go nuts. If you don't use less and remove the seeds).
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 vine ripened tomato, chopped
2 large handfuls of spinach/baby kale blend
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup grated part skim mozarella
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salad (Saralie Salad)
I can't take complete credit for this idea. My aunt-in law is a fierce vegetarian...I say fierce because she is passionate about cooking and it shows!! Her salad is slightly different than mine, but I would've never of thought to combine avocados and roasted carrots...ever!!
6 carrots chopped into rounds (they'll shrink)
2 ripe avocados, pitted, peeled and chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp smoke paprika
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix carrots with olive oil and paprika (salt & pepper to taste)
3. On a parchment-lined cookie sheet add carrots. Bake for 30-40 mins, until carrots are soft.
4. While the carrots are cooking, add olive oil to a large pan. Add mushrooms, hot pepper, onion, garlic, pepper and tomato. Sauté on med-high heat until vegetables are soft and caramelized.
5. Add spinach/kale and sauté until the greens have wilted.
6. Add feta, basil, goat cheese and balsamic and sauté until all the liquids have evaporated. Set aside.
7. Pre-heat grill.
8. Stuff portobello mushrooms with veggie mixture. Top with grated mozza.
9. Cook mushrooms on grill over low heat until fork-tender and the cheese is melted.
10. In a separate bowl add roasted carrots, avocado and red-wine vinegar. Stir gently.
11. Remove mushrooms from grill and serve immediately with salad on the side.
Bon Appétit!
pretty nice blog, following :)
ReplyDelete