Mushrooms : Meaty-tasting portabellas make a fine burger

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Meaty-tasting portabellas make a fine burger

Meaty tasting and low in calories, portabella mushrooms are a great alternative to a beef burger.

What makes them ideal as burgers is their size and texture. But they also work well grilled or broiled, served on sandwiches, or sliced on salads.

Portabella mushrooms are basically an overgrown variation of the common button mushrooms. They can be very large, about 5-6 inches in diameter, although many stores now carry mini bellas, about 3 inches in diameter, and porteenies, which are even smaller.

It was in 1980 that the name portabella started to be used as a “brilliant marketing ploy to popularize these unglamorous mushrooms,” according to “The Food Lover’s Companion” (Barron’s, $16.99) by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

Portabella mushrooms have a meaty texture because their gills are exposed, which gives them a low-moisture content.

Many recipes call for removing the gills before cooking. It can be simply a matter of preference, but it also can be because the spores released from the gills during cooking will discolor other ingredients that are mixed in. So remove the gills when making a mushroom soup or using portabellas in, say, a risotto or other rice or pasta dish.

If you’re stuffing the portabellas, it’s also a good idea to remove the gills and stems to make room for the stuffing.

In this portabella burger recipe, the gills are removed so they won’t darken the cheese, but it’s not totally necessary. Use a spoon to easily scrape out and remove them.

Here’s the basic preparation for grilling portabellas.

• Prepare: Remove and discard the stems and scrape out the gills. Wipe caps clean with a damp paper towel.

• Season: Brush both sides of the mushroom caps with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea or kosher salt and black pepper.

• Grill: Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place mushrooms, top side down, and grill 4 minutes. Turn over and grill an additional 2-4 minutes or until the caps are tender.

In today’s recipe, the portabellas are topped with tangy blue cheese and caramelized red onions. Serve them on a lightly toasted bun. Match the buns to the size of the mushrooms before grilling, keeping in mind that the portabellas will shrink a little. If you add a thick slice of tomato and peppery arugula, your guests won’t ask “Where’s the beef?”

Contact Susan M. Selasky at 313-222-6432 or [email protected].

Recipes for Mushrooms with Bill & Sheila

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