Recipe: Grilled Portobello Mushroom Stack

From the Vitality Food Feature ‘Freshen Up Your Spring Menu with Plant-Based Meals‘.

It’s like a decadent, oozing burger, full of texture and flavour and yet it is deliciously, perfectly in line with reducetarian principles. You can use sliced tomato or dill pickle in place of the avocado.  (Makes 4 stacks.)

Ingredients

• 4 large Portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed
• 1 small eggplant, cut into ½-inch slices crosswise
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive or avocado oil, divided
• 4 slices mozzarella or fontina cheese, optional
• 4 slices whole grain bread
• ½ cup Walnut-Olive Pesto (recipe follows) or hummus
• 1/2 avocado, cut into slices
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven to 400° F. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet. Arrange mushrooms, gill side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Add eggplant slices in one layer to the sheet and drizzle 3 tablespoons oil over all. Roast in preheated oven for 15 minutes.

2) Using tongs, flip vegetables over and drizzle remaining oil over. Roast for 15 minutes or until soft. Remove eggplant to a plate and set aside. Top the 4 mushrooms (now gill side up) with a slice of cheese and return to the oven for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

3) Toast the bread and place on a work surface. Divide Walnut Pesto evenly among the 4 slices and spread over each. Place a slice of eggplant over pesto, and a mushroom with melted cheese over the eggplant. Top with a slice of avocado. Grate salt and pepper over top.