Recipe | Pan-Seared Portobello Burgers.

I cannot believe I'm blogging about food on my last day of a 3-day juice cleanse (have mercy, I want real food!), but it's all I can think about right now, so here goes.  Visiting the farmers' market on a Saturday in summer is one of my greatest joys.  I have recently added portobello "burgers" to my repertoire, and every time I make them, C declares them the best meal ever (he's prone to hyperbole, but I'll take it!).   

The fresh, organic ingredients I pick up at the market (which usually include the mushrooms themselves, fresh herb bread, arugula, asparagus, and cheese) are a factor in the deliciousness, but the real secret is in the super-easy marinade.  Since we city-folk do not have a balcony nor a grill, we go the pan-seared way.  There are plenty of recipes online, but we have fallen in love with this one, from Delectable Planet.  

Ingredients

4 large portobello mushrooms, with stems removed

2 T red wine or water (we go with the wine for richness)

2 T soy sauce

1 T balsamic vinegar

2 gloves garlic, minced

1/2 t dried oregano

Combine all ingredients but the mushrooms in a large skillet and heat on medium-high until the mixture begins to bubble.  Add mushrooms, top side down, turn the heat to low-medium, and cover for 3 minutes.  Turn mushrooms over and cook for another 5 minutes.  If the pan becomes dry at any point, add water by the tablespoon ( we've never encountered this). 

Serve the mushrooms on nice, fresh bread, topped with arugula, some cooked asparagus, tomato slices, and cheese (blue cheese is a favorite of mine, but we used the frying cheese from the market last weekend and it was dynamite.  I fried that up in a separate pan while the mushrooms were cooking).  

You can also totally serve them up sans bread (like a steak!), with some vegetables, an arugula salad, and maybe some cous-cous or quinoa (I'm just spit-balling now, my juice-cleanse-brain can't stop thinking about this meal!).  Use the left-over marinade as a sauce.

Nom nom.  Enjoy.

xo. di.

*images property of Diane Crary