When I was in culinary school, portobello mushrooms were the lunch “protein” of choice. We all knew how to make them, and they were sort of a welcome relief from the overabundance of food that we had to consume. Here you marinate the portobello mushrooms in a simple mixture of garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice. Then you grill them, shove them and some baby greens in a pita, and you’ve got a filling lunch that won’t slow you down.–Fred Thompson
LC Gills Or No Gills Note
There tends to be two types of cooks—those who can tolerate portobello gills and those who adamantly insist they be removed. Here’s your chance to proclaim your choice to the world. Which are you?
Garlicky Lemon-Marinated Portobello Burgers Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 medium portobello mushrooms, stems removed
- For the garlic-lemon marinade
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- For the vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sherry wine vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 bag mesclun salad mix
- 4 pita pockets
Directions
- 1. Place the portobello mushroom caps upside down on a baking sheet.
- 2. Whisk together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and salt, and pour the mixture evenly over the mushrooms. Make sure the marinade pools up in the undersides of the portobellos. Turn them a few times during their bath so that both sides get liberally coated. Marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
- 3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the vinaigrette ingredients and mix well. Set aside.
- 4. Light a charcoal fire or preheat your gas grill on high. Oil the grill’s cooking surface. Let the coals burn down to a medium-hot fire or adjust the gas grill burners to medium-high.
- 5. Grill the portobello mushrooms for about 5 minutes per side, longer if you want a slightly crispy crust.
- 6. Toss the mesclun with the vinaigrette, then place 2 mushroom burgers in each warm pita pocket and top with the dressed mesclun.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Black Bean Mushroom Burgers from Brown Eyed Baker
- Chipotle Portobello Burgers from Ezra Pound Cake
- Michael Schlow Burger with Crispy Onions from Leite's Culinaria
- Veggie Burgers from Leite's Culinaria
Garlicky Lemon-Marinated Portobello Burgers Recipe © 2007 Fred Thompson. Photo © 2007 Brian Hagiwara. All rights reserved.
[Kim Graham] The directions for these portobello burgers are clear and simple to follow. I got a late start on dinner, but we actually ended up eating pretty quickly because this was so simple and quick to put together. The flavors were quite impressive, especially given how simple this was to make. It’s a very satisfying and tasty vegetarian dish. The garlic/lemon combination of the marinade was wonderful, and it went beautifully with the mushrooms.