Portobello Burgers with the CK and CQ

Photo lost when the old site was hacked. (Grilled Portobello burger topped with onions, watercress and aioli) Newer posts will have photos.

We spent a 4-day weekend in July with A’s family — playing cards with Gram (who turns 99 in a month), cleaning the basement, making trips to the dump, introducing Z to Maine, and of course, eating. We indulged in homemade pizzas, grilled cheeses and cheeseburgers with fries, ice cream from Brown’s (and C&L Frosty’s), the CK’s classic fried egg sandwiches, lobster, steamers and corn on the cob.

Our favorite meal, however, was made by the CQ and CK.  We liked it so much that we finished the leftovers a night later (with some champagne) as a midnight snack AND made it again for family friends (neighbors who have known A since she was born and who she considers family, family that she is friends with).  We were without Z’s camera and our usual set up, but we still tried to document the process.

This recipe is straight from Epicurious and we basically followed it to a T.  We made a few changes because we were serving 6 people and wanted to have plenty — and because the CK is a sauce man and can never have too much sauce.

 

Portobello Burgers with Piquillo Pepper Aioli

Found and tested by the CQ and taken right from Bon Appetit on Epicurious

(Serves 6 big appetites, makes 10)

 

Aioli

1 c chopped drained piquillo peppers (from a jar)

2 tbsp Sherry wine vinegar

4 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

2 garlic cloves minced

1 c mayo

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

freshly grated black pepper to taste

 

Portobello Burgers

10 large portobello caps, stemmed, dark gills scraped out

2 Vidalia onions cut into 1/3-1/2″ thick slices

3 tbsp chopped thyme

2 large garlic cloves, minced

.75 lb smoked Gouda, thinly sliced

10 slices of hearty bread

1 bunch watercress

 

 

Start with the Aioli because it is so damn easy and because it’s nice to check things off as done.  Drain the piquillos, chop the thyme, mince the garlic.  Combine the first five ingredients in a food processor and blend.  Add the cayenne, salt, and pepper.  Refrigerate.

3 photos lost when the old site was hacked. (The jarred piquillo peppers we used; Piquillo pepper puree in blender; piquillo pepper aioli) Newer posts will have photos.

Now move on to the Portobellos.  Start by removing the stems and the gills.  Z found that using the end of a handle of a spoon gave him the most control and the gentlest scraping motion.

2 photos lost when the old site was hacked. (portobello cap; Portobello mushrooms with the gills removed) Newer posts will have photos.

Slice the onions.  Arrange Portobellos and Onions on cookie sheets. Brush both sides of the onions with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme.

2 photos lost when the old site was hacked. (sliced onions drizzled with olive oil, garlic and thyme; a close up of sliced onions drizzled with olive oil, garlic and thyme) Newer posts will have photos.

Then do this with the mushrooms.  Brush both mushroom sides with yummy olive oil.  Flip them gill side up and sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme and garlic.

Photo lost when the old site was hacked. (De-Gilled Portobello cap with olive oil, garlic and thyme) Newer posts will have photos.

Allow them to sit and soak in the flavors for somewhere between 30 min and 2 hours.  (Our prep took longer than expected and we were worried the guests were getting hungry so we only had them sit for 1 hour).

Wash the watercress.

Photo lost when the old site was hacked. (watercress in salad spinner) Newer posts will have photos.

Slice your bread of choice in 1″ slices.  Prepare the grill.

As for the grilling itself, since the CK is usually the grill master — here are his directions:

“Grill the bread first.  Simply pay enough attention to not let it burn.  I checked it frequently; when it had nice grill lines, I flipped it over and did the same on the second side.”

Photo lost when the old site was hacked. (Sliced bread grilled) Newer posts will have photos.

Do the same for the onions.

Photo lost when the old site was hacked. (Onion slices grilled) Newer posts will have photos.

“Then I grilled the ‘nerudas’* — I think it was a medium hot fire.  I believe I grilled the nerudas without cheese, for about four or five minutes directly over the heat.  I did not flip them; I didn’t want all the nice garlic and accumulated juices inside to fall out.  Then I moved them over to the no-fire side of the grill**, put the cheese on, and closed the top most of the way.  [At this point] the temperature got up to about 400 degrees… I think I left them for another minute under the lid.  Then I poured myself another scotch and soda and wished I had more to grill!”***

Photo lost when the old site was hacked. (Portobello Burgers topped with smoked gouda on the grill (and a side of spicy sausage)) Newer posts will have photos.

Your next step is preparing them to be served.  Arrange bread on a plate and lather with some aioli (the recipe above is the original amount of aioli doubled, so be generous!).  Place the mushroom on next, top with an onion, with more aioli and then a small handful of watercress (the watercress is worth it!)

 

*Hotel Neruda is where the CQ and CK stayed when the visited A in Prague during her junior semester abroad.  The CK has a penchant for giving people and inanimate objects nicknames.

**The CK uses a brick technique to divide the grill — one side has direct fire and one side is more of a holding area where things can stay warm, but where they won’t be getting direct heat.

*** The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!

So, for all you meat-eaters out there thinking “Portobello burgers?  Give me a REAL burger!” think again!  The meat-lovers said this meal left nothing to be desired.  We think our friends enjoyed it (or at least they said they did!).  There were more sausages leftover than portobellos.  It was a good find by the CQ and we plan on making it again and again.  Try it!