Portobello Mushroom Pizzas
This simple side dish can easily become the main course to a vegetarian meal—either between a bun as a vegetable burger or with a salad as a crust-less "pizza". This blue cheese and roasted pepper version can be changed by varying the cheese and substituting any favorite pizza toppings. Originally served as part of: Dinner and a Trip to the Library.
Ingredients
- 3 medium Portobello caps mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 1 medium canned, roasted, red pepper (drained)
- 1½ ounces blue veined triple-creme cheese (Blue Castello)
Instructions
We start by preheating the grill.
We wipe the Portobellos with a damp cloth and remove the stems with a paring knife. Using a teaspoon, we scrape away the gills onto a paper towel and discard. The mushroom caps are placed on a dinner plate.
We slice the roasted red pepper and crumble the cheese into a bowl.
We rub the three caps on both sides with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. We place the mushrooms gill-side down on the grill for about four minutes. We flip and top with the roasted pepper and blue cheese. The "pizzas" are cooked for another couple of minutes, with the grill cover down. The mushrooms should be tender and the cheese melted.
Ingredients
- 3 medium portobello caps
- 1 medium canned roasted red pepper (sliced)
- 1½ oz blue triple-crème cheese (Castello Blue) (crumbled)
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Heat the grill.
Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth, cut out the stems with a paring knife, and scrape out the gills with a teaspoon.
Kid job
Slice the pepper and crumble the cheese. Rub the caps on both sides with oil and season them.
Grown-up
Grill gill side down about 4 minutes. Flip, top with the pepper and cheese, close the lid, and grill a couple of minutes more, until tender and melted. Swap in any pizza toppings you like.