Meaty and marinated mushrooms make a meal

Lifestyle

Related Photos

Varela recommends removing any excess oil from the mushrooms to avoid unnecessary flaming when grilling them.
Grill for three to four minutes on each side until you get the grill marks and browning.
Marinate the portabellas for 24 to 48 hours in the refrigator in a mixture of oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, and here Varela adds fresh, chopped chives.
Grilled portabellas also add a meaty element to a salad of mixed greens, radishes and edible flowers.
Andy Varela serves his grilled, marinated portabellas with a herb vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette recipe, visit food.gloucestertimes.com.
Once the portabellas are done on the grill, pull them off, let them rest and come down in temperature as you would a steak then slice on the bias into strips.
MPN/Courtesy photo Chef Andy Varela of Maitland Mountain Farm recommends keeping a stock of marinated portabellas in the refrigerator, to grill or add to salads. MPN/Courtesy photo

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE CHANGES IN POLICY: Commenters are required to have a username with a valid and verified email address. Gloucestertimes.com reserves the right to ban the IP address of any commenter (person) found using multiple aliases under multiple e-mail addresses in a deceptive manner. Posts that do not meet site standards, which can be found here, will be removed.

If you are experiencing problems logging in or posting comments, please contact Disqus' help center by clicking here.

comments powered by Disqus

August 1, 2012

Meaty and marinated mushrooms make a meal

By Times Staff Gloucester Daily Times The Gloucester Daily Times Wed Aug 01, 2012, 01:45 PM EDT

Chef and farmer Andy Varela of Maitland Mountain Farm thinks that marinating portabella mushrooms is a handy ingredient to keep in your refrigerator.

They taste great, are healthy and can be put on a grill as a great addition to salads or as a condiment on hamburgers or other sandwiches. They can also be eaten as a simple side dish. Varela also recommends serving with vinaigrette such as his own fresh herb vinaigrette.

Before grilling, Varela suggests that you marinate the mushrooms for 24 to 48 hours by keeping them sealed in the refrigerator. That way you can pull them out whenever you need them, especially for grilling.

When you do grill them, remove the excess oil to avoid unnecessary flaming. You do not have to season them any more than they already are.

“What you are looking for is a nice grilled, charred flavor to the mushrooms,” according to Varela. Grill for three to four minutes on each side until you get the grill marks and browning. “The more of a grill mark you have, the more of that charred and grilled flavor you are going to have on your mushroom.”

You know when they are done when they reduce in size and loose some of their moisture. Take them off the grill, let rest and come down in temperature as you would a steak then slice on the bias into strips.

Portabellas are older crimini mushrooms and have a meatier taste and texture. They are the largest of the cultivated mushrooms and the caps can be 6 inches wide. The stems are thick and can be cooked and eaten along with the caps.

To help maintain their quality, refrigerate portabellas as soon as you can. If you store them in paper bags instead of plastic it is better. A plastic bag retains too much moisture.

Marinated Portabellas

Ingredients

6 to 8 portabella caps, with stems removed

30 ounces canola oil

10 ounces balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons chopped garlic

3 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

Instructions

1. With a spoon remove and clean Portobello stem and gills. In a large bowl add garlic, canola oil, balsamic, garlic, salt and pepper.

2. With whisk, mix all ingredients until incorporated. Add cleaned mushroom caps and submerge till covered. Let marinate for 24 to 48 hours in refrigerator.

3. Pull caps when needed, cook on grill or in a sauté pan for 3 minutes on each side.

Serve and enjoy!

---

Recipe courtesy of Andy Varela, Maitland Mountain Farm, 2012.