Portobello Mushroom Burger

Grilling again, but this time we are going vegetarian. I really do love hamburgers almost more than any other food, but I decided to try something new and went with a portobello mushroom burger. I've had them before when I worked at a restaurant at Snowbird Ski Resort. I liked them, especially because at the time I was a vegetarian. Yes, hard to believe but I was a vegetarian for a while, 7 years in fact, but I digress....

Like I was saying I liked them, but they were always just a bit too oily for me. But as I was the grill master on these ones, I did something very, very tricky in order to minimize the oiliness, ready...wait for it...I flipped them over while grilling! Genius I know, feel free to give me a little cheer or applause.

Enjoy your grilling, invite over some vegetarian friends, and have yourself one "beefy" mushroom. (I would suggest serving some roasted potatoes flavored with Montreal Steak Seasoning and olive oil, or with our Roasted Rosemary Potatoes.)

Portobello Mushroom Burger

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Pictures by Caroline

Ingredients

4 portobello mushroom caps, cleaned

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon prepared pesto

2 teaspoons coarse-grained mustard

4 hamburger buns, split, buttered, and toasted

1 cup baby arugula

1 (12-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained

Directions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Brush mushrooms caps with olive oil; sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Grill mushrooms, smooth side down, covered with grill lid, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until tender. (*In order to minimize the oiliness, flip the mushrooms over during the grilling process, it makes a big difference, I promise.)
3. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, pesto, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread mixture evenly over cut sides of buns. Divide arugula evenly over bottom halves of buns. Top each evenly with peppers. Place mushrooms caps over peppers. Cover with tops of buns.