Meatless Meals: Quick Portabella Cheese”steak”

A large, smooth portabella cap, with its velvety brown gills, is truly a thing of beauty. But it’s also insanely delicious – with a rich, “meaty” mouthfeel – in a vegetarian-friendly cheese”steak”!

It was one of those evenings when nothing sounded good for dinner. A bit of ennui? Perhaps. But one has to eat, and those stately fresh mushrooms beckoned from the fridge. Grill and pop onto a bun? Sure, but why not do a riff on cheesteak, instead?

The dense cap was sliced into sections, then browned in grass fed butter, along with chopped onions. The sautéed veggies then went onto a baguette and topped with (my favorite) Tillamook cheddar and quickly baked (350 degrees for about 5 minutes) to melt the cheese.

An accompaniment of carrotsticks added visual interest and a satisfying crunch to the meal. And the sandwich? Sheer delight: meaty, rich, and savory. This is a wholly satisying cheese”steak”. It makes me glad that there are a few more caps in the fridge because I’ll definitely be having this again!

Heard about mushrooms’ health benefits? Not only delicious, they’re also a good source of protein and nutrients like copper and vitamin D, and have immune-boosting, antioxidant, antiviral, and antibacterial properties.