Portobello Burgers

Sunday 18 July

We bought some big portobello mushrooms on spec at Findlay Market, and though we were thinking of just slicing them up for a big vegetable grill, we decided to try grilling the caps whole, as we saw on Steve Raichlen's Barbecue U.

We simplified the recipe considerably, though. Consider it a gift for all our vegetarian friends and students who got tired of the constant cheese barrage at the Vesuvian Institute.

For three-four big mushroom caps, we mixed up a bowl of the following marinade:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon ketchup (or barbeque sauce)

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

a dribble of liquid smoke

salt and black pepper

While they were sitting in that (we didn't have time, but you can marinate them for 1-2 hours), we heated the grill and prepped the rest of the sandwich makings:

thick slices of white onion - these too were brushed with marinade and grilled

juicy red tomato slices, adorned with leaves of fresh basil from the garden

a frizz of garden lettuce, both green and red

crumbled gorgonzola cheese

sandwich spread: in this case, a combination of Pace picante salsa and mayonnaise, just to season and moisten the bread

and doorstop-size slices of Holt's homemade whole-wheat bread, toasted (those who cannot obtain bread this good will have to settle for hamburger buns).

When the grill was hot, we plopped the onion slices on one half and the drained mushroom caps, gill side down, on the other, moving and flipping them as necessary. We basted the caps as they cooked for about 3 minutes, then turned them over, spooned more marinade in among the gills, and gave them about 4 minutes more; halfway through, Barbara added the crumbled gorgonzola to hers, as she is a blue cheese fanatic.

When the mushrooms were tender and the onions were browned, we stacked the ingredients up into Dagwood-style sandwiches, and wrestled them into our mouths. They dripped, and crumbled, and were delicious.