Summertime rocks. From farmstand-fresh fruits and veggies to right-from-the garden herbs, it's a great time of year to cook (and eat). I will be sad when winter comes and I will no longer have bowls filled with bright, juicy tomatoes still warm from the garden. I also love summer because I get an organic produce delivery ever other week and in June-July-August all of the veggies and fruits are not only organic, but all of them are LOCAL. (Yay!) I was delighted to find two huge portobello mushrooms from a local farm in my latest box. And, when I say huge, I mean
huge. As in eight inches across huge. Whoa.
They seemed to be begging to be marinated and then grilled, so I obliged. I removed the stems (save for a stir fry or for stuffing tomatoes) and scooped out the gills under the cap with a grapefruit spoon. Note: You don't have to get rid of the gills, but they turn everything brown and also seem to make the mushrooms soggier if they aren't removed, so I do. Then, I marinated the caps in a mixture of dark soy sauce, barbecue sauce, minced ginger and garlic, and a wee bit of Dijon mustard. I let them soak for at least 30 minutes in the fridge, then brought them out to room temperature. When my grill was hot, I cooked them until brown and slightly crispy on the outside, about 4-5 minutes per side. When I had about 5 minutes to spare, I added some red and yellow peppers to the grill, too.
The mushrooms were so huge we had to quarter them in order to fit neatly into our beautiful whole wheat buns. I topped each cap with the peppers, a slice of heirloom tomato, a handful of spinach, and a sprinkle of feta cheese. Then, I spread each bun lid with a generous dollop of sriracha/hoisin mayo mixture I threw together at the last minute when I realized that regular mayo wasn't going to cut it.
Served with a scrumptious Shepherd's Salad (recipe
here), it was an easy -- and tasty -- summer dinner. Yum!
xoxo
