BBQ Portabella Sliders

Photo courtesy of How Sweet It Is

Let me first start off with a confession, lest I be stoned, flogged or otherwise ostracized for pulling a fast one: this is NOT vegan cheese in the photo.

Sorry.

Having said that, the reason I'm sharing this is because these scrumptious little suckers are a great example of a Sneaky Vegan meal (sans or substituting the cheese) that was prepared and posted by Jessica from How Sweet It Is: an awesome blogger who - as a self-outed vegetable hater - is about as far from vegan as one can get and still posts some really amazing vegan and vegetarian stuff.

It just goes to show that great vegan food can be found anywhere - even in the most unlikely of places, kitchens and blogs. So when you're looking for good vegan recipes, definitely check out the usual suspects, but stay open to other "omni-sources". You never know where more yummy nuggets like these might be hiding...

Thanks Jessica - I can't wait to try these!


BBQ Portobello Sliders
recipe courtesy of Jessica at How Sweet It Is
makes 6 sliders

6 baby portobello stuffing mushrooms
6 slider buns
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
2-3 ounces gouda, sliced into squares (not sure vegan gouda exists, but any vegan cheese will do)
1 avocado, sliced
1/2 cup bbq sauce, for drizzling and dipping

Heat a skillet on medium-low heat and add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Add sliced onions with a pinch of salt and let caramelize, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, then turn off heat and set aside.

While onions are caramelizing, brush mushrooms with remaining olive oil and sprinkle both sides with pepper, paprika, onion and chili powder. Heat a skillet ( or a grill) on medium heat and cook until mushrooms are juicy and tender – about 5 minutes on each side. With 1-2 minutes remaining, add a slice of gouda on top to melt.

Assemble sliders by placing the mushroom on the bun, then top with onions, avocado, and a hefty drizzle of bbq sauce.

Note from Jessica: if you can’t find slider buns in your local store, just buy dinner rolls. I did this for years before grocery stores actually started selling slider buns!


Update: made these for Mom and they were delish - even with vegan cheese =) Pair them up with these Spiced Sweet Potato Fries and use the Maple BBQ Sauce in that recipe. Heaven!

Portabella Mushroom Fettuccine

Wow, Mom is really getting the hang of this vegan business! She refuses to open any of my new vegan cookbooks, prefering instead to use "real" recipes and just take out the stuff she can't eat. Pretty good strategy for a reluctant vegan - and anyone else who's having trouble sharing their kitchen with an omnivorous family.

Portabella mushrooms are one of my favorite "sneaky" ingredients because they marinate well with almost anything you would use on a steak.

So here's a little something she whipped up for us the other night.

1/2 cup burgandy or other dry red wine
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
6 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil (she left this out and it was still delish!)
1-1/2 teaspoons dry oregano
12oz top sirloin, cut into thin strips
12oz portabella mushrooms, sliced
8oz fettuccine (we used wheat pasta but spinach or sun-dried tomato fettucine would be excellent!)

Combine first 6 ingredients in an airtight plastic bag for marinade. Add mushrooms and beef and turn to coat thoroughly. Seal and refrigerate for 30 minutes, turning beef frequently.

Cook pasta per packaging instructions.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with olive oil spray. Heat over medium-high for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer 1/2 the mixture to skillet. Cook for 4 minutes until meat is no longer pink. Stir frequently. Set aside and cook the remaining mixture.

Return the set-aside mixture with juices to skillet and add remaining marinade. Increase heat to high and cook for one minute, stirring gently. Remove from heat, spoon over pasta and serve. Sadly we didn't have any vegan cheese on hand, but a few shreds would have been a nice finishing touch. Still, this was delish. Try pairing it with this vegan Caesar salad on the side.

Yay Mom!