Grilled Portabello Mushroom Burgers
With the 4th of July just a few days away, I’m sure many of you are planning an outdoor menu based around the grill. I know we are!
This delicious vegetarian burger is the marriage of two of my favorite summer dishes: the caprese salad and grilled portabello mushrooms.
I made this super quick dinner the other night when I had less than 3.8 minutes to get dinner on the table. It was just one of those days. It was a hectic afternoon into early evening and everyone in my house was hungry and cranky. I put the Mr. in charge of firing up the grill and watching the kids outside, while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. 15 minutes and a glass of wine later, dinner was served. We took our plates to the front patio and sat for what felt like the first time all day. After devouring these burgers, we finally relaxed. With a second glass of wine hand, it was one of those days after all, we sat on the porch watching the kids and enjoying another beautiful evening that Park City is well known for.
The mushrooms are the “meat” in this burger. Mushrooms are a vegetarians best friend. Meaty, filling and a great stand in for some ground carcus. Yes, I just said carcus. The mushrooms need minimal prep. Once you scrape the gills from the inside of the mushroom, they only need 10 (or 3.8 if that’s all you’ve got!) minutes to marinate. The mushrooms are like little sponges soaking up the balsamic-soy marinade quickly.
To go with the mushrooms you’ll need sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, some red leaf lettuce and a bit of pesto aioli.
Aioli is just a fancy way of saying flavored mayonnaise. Feel free to use store bought pesto if that’s all you have but this is the perfect recipe to use the homemade basil pesto that I shared with you on Wednesday. I use a 3:1 ratio when making the aioli. Don’t be afraid to adjust this to your liking. I used 3 tablespoons of pesto mixed with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise for two burgers. It was just enough for the two of us so if you like your burgers saucy, make a little extra.
Buttering the buns and grilling them for a few minutes before serving just adds to the deliciousness. I was just about to tell you that this step isn’t necessary but that would be a lie. Buttering anything is necessary.
I’m linking this recipe up with the fabulous ladies, Dara from Cookin’ Canuk, and Marla from Family Fresh Cooking. They are hosting a fun recipe link up this summer called Get Grillin. There are many prizes to be won and even more recipes to add to your summer arsenal. This weeks theme was vegetarian dishes and this burger was too good not to share. Head over to their blogs to check out the other fantastic vegetarian dishes people are making.
I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful 4th of July. Until next week, here’s to outdoor bbq’s with great food, too much time in the pool (covered with sunblock, I hope!) , great firework shows, and most importantly, spending some quality time with family and friends.
Cheers!
Grilled Portabello Mushroom Burgers
Ingredients
- 4 portabello mushrooms, cleaned and gills removed
- 5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt to taste
- 1 beefsteak or similar tomato, sliced
- 4 thick slices fresh mozzarella cheese
- 4 leaves of red leaf lettuce
- 6 tablespoons basil pesto
- 2 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise
- 4 buns, split
- butter for spreading on buns
Instructions
Heat grill to medium-high heat. Combine balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil, garlic powder and onion powder in a small bowl. Pour over mushrooms, tossing a few times, and let marinate for 10 minutes. When grill is nice and hot, turn heat back to medium and grill mushrooms for about 5 minutes each side. During the last 2 minutes of grilling, throw buttered buns on just long enough to heat through, melt butter, and impart a nice grill mark on bread. Remove mushrooms and bread from grill. To assemple the burger, evenly spread the pesto aioli on the buns. Layer with warm mushrooms, sliced tomato, mozzarella cheese, and red leaf lettuce. Enjoy!
11 Comments
I absolutely love your blog. I just stumbled upon it from your link on Family Fresh Cooking. love your story and your recipes are suburb. I lived out in Park City for a few years during childhood. You’re a lucky lady!! 🙂
Thank you Lindsay. Can’t wait to check out your blog. Thanks for leaving a comment!!
I just made some pesto yesterday and this looks like a wonderful way to put it to use. My husband and son LOVE portabellos. Maybe they won’t notice that I’m trying to serve them vegetarian fare!
These look fantastic! I can’t wait to see you next week!
Thanks, Alison! Looking forward to it!
Oh my goodness, this looks AMAZING!!
L.O.V.E. these burgers. I just made some myself, with peaches! Who would have thought?
http://bevcooks.com/2011/06/shroom-burgers-dude-made-ya-look/
Yours look deevine!
This may come as a surprise to you but single women are busy! I am very fortunate to never have been married or have children. I was able to retire at 45 years old. I have never turned on a stove in my life!!!! Thank goodness for restaurants and microwaves. Nevertheless,I heard about this site while watching the news & they were talking about how busy moms are. When I slow down I’ll be dead…right now I average about 4 hours of sleep a night because life is so outstanding and wonderful and busy!!!!!
I’m not sure why you’d think that I would be surprised that single ladies are busy. I used to be one. Glad you’re so happy and hats off to you that you can run on 4 hours of sleep!
Permalink
Permalink