We Are Not Martha Presents: Portabella Mushroom Burger with Hummus & Feta
This week’s featured contributor is Boston-based food writer Susie Anderson of We Are Not Martha. Recently featured in the Boston Globe, We Are Not Martha takes the recipes of their food folk heroes (like site namesake, Martha Stewart) and delivers them in a way any kitchen beginner would feel safe to try them
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Sometimes I attempt to be healthy. It’s not always easy, but every now and then I’m able to resist certain foods or find substitutions that are healthier and almost as delicious. It can be tough though. Sometimes when I’m craving a big juicy hamburger, I eat a veggie burger instead. But veggie burgers are never really as satisfying as the beef, are they? After I eat one, I still find myself craving some juicy red meat. But now I have discovered the solution to this problem. Now, I can satisfy my red meat craving without all the calories and saturated fat. How? With a portabella mushroom burger. You don’t believe me, do you? You don’t think it’s possible that eating a mushroom can leave me as satisfied as eating a big juicy hamburger. Well, I assure you, it can.
You basically cook a portabella burger the same way you would cook a hamburger, but without having to worry about cooking it enough to get rid of all those nasty foodborne illnesses. The burger would be perfectly amazing on a grill, but can always be done in a frying pan if you’re not lucky enough to own a grill. I went for the middle option and pulled out my trusty George Foreman. I wanted a way to make my mushroom burger a bit different than average and when I found this Michael Chiarello recipe for Grilled Portabella Mushrooms with Hummus and Feta Cheese, I knew that’s exactly what I was craving. A portabella mushroom cheeseburger!
Ingredients for the Portabella Mushroom Burger:
- 1 portabella mushroom
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons hummus
- 1 ounce feta cheese
- Bread of your choice
First I drizzled some olive oil and sprinkled some salt and pepper on each side of the mushroom.
Then, I grilled my portobello mushroom on the Foreman for about 4 minutes on each side at a temperature of 300 degrees.
When it was grilled to my liking, I spooned some hummus into the middle of the mushroom and sliced a piece of feta cheese on top. I used the original flavor hummus but you could easily vary that with sun-dried tomato or spinach-artichoke.
How easy was that?? I put my slice of bread on the Foreman for a couple minutes to make it nice and crispy and then I placed the mushroom on top of the bread. I could have put another slice of bread on top, but I wanted the open-face mushroom burger for maximum taste.
Now, if you’ve never tried one before, you’re probably wondering how this giant mushroom satisfies a burger craving. Well, portabellas are extremely tender and juicy and when you grill them, they are pretty much as close to a hamburger as you can get. Plus, a 100 gram portabella only has about 26 calories, barely any fat and some great vitamins and nutrients. Once you grill your mushroom, you can top it with anything you want. Grilled onions would be amazing and barbecue sauce would be a nice touch. The options are pretty much endless. So next time you’re craving hamburger, but don’t want to consume an entire day’s calories and fat in one meal, try out the portabella mushroom burger. Now if only I could make a portabella mushroom hotdog…stay tuned.
[...] The two talented countess de cuisines behind We Are Not Martha, Susie and Chelsee, were recently asked to do a cooking demonstration by How2Heroes. We were thrilled to see this easy appetizer recipe deconstructed on camera by the same team that brought us Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Hummus and Feta. [...]
[...] this recipe, be sure to check out We Are Not Martha’s other recipes on the Mushroom Channel: Portabella Mushrooms Stuffed with Hummus and Feta and their video post on Stuffed Mushrooms as an Easy Party Appetizer. Share and [...]