Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Leek and Tomato

When making delicious meals that utilize mushrooms as an ingredient there are different kinds of mushrooms to choose from. One of my favorites is Portobello mushrooms.

Portobello mushrooms are part of the cremini family of mushrooms. They are brown in color and are usually large in size, though if harvested young they can be smaller. They have a meaty texture, make for a filling dish, and are low in calories. As far as nutrients go, Portobello mushrooms are packed with protein and fiber. They also have a moderate amount of potassium, phosphorus, and Vitamin B (Niacin and Folate).

When it comes to preparing Portobello mushrooms you can cook them any which way you like. You can marinate them, grill them, fry them, roast them, sauté them, use them in stews and more... You can either use them in recipes as an added ingredient or you can have them as the star ingredient by topping the mushrooms with other ingredients like veggies, cheeses, and sauces. The possibilities are endless.

I love cooking Portobello mushrooms and enjoy eating them too. One of my recent recipes is roasted Portobello mushrooms with leek and tomato. It is easy to make, doesn't take a lot of time to prepare, and tastes oh so good. But don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself.

Below you will find this Portobello mushroom recipe along with ingredients, step-by-step instructions and recipe photos. Enjoy!

Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Leek and Tomato

Ingredients

• 4 large Portobello mushrooms
• 1 bunch leek
• 1 large red beef tomato
• olive oil
• sea salt
• roasted sesame seeds
• shredded Parmesan Grano Padano cheese

This Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Leek and Tomato recipe makes for 4 servings. You can serve it as an appetizer or as a main dish. One mushroom may not fill you up so if you are not planning to eat anything else take two mushrooms instead of one.

Instructions

1. Thoroughly wash the bunch of leek, cut into slices, and set aside. Wash a large red beef tomato, dice, and set aside. Add cooking oil to a skillet and fry the leek until tender. Then add the diced tomatoes, sprinkle with sea salt, stir, and cook for a few minutes more.
2. Wash the large Portobello mushrooms and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove the stem. Sprinkle both sides of the mushrooms with sea salt and then baste both sides with olive oil.
3. Take a deep aluminum foil tray (or a ceramic one), drizzle with cooking oil and add the Portobello mushrooms. Place the tray into a pre-heated oven at 400 F onto the middle rack. Cook the mushrooms for ten minutes. Then flip the mushrooms over and cook for another ten minutes.
4. Take the tray out of the oven. Make sure the mushrooms are bottom side up. If they are not flip them over. Then using a spoon or a spatula place some fried leek and tomato on top of each Portobello mushroom. Top with lots of shredded Parmesan Grano Padano cheese. Place the tray back into the oven and cook until the cheese melts. When done remove the tray from the oven. When serving the mushrooms garnish them with roasted sesame seeds and garnish the plate with some dried parsley flakes.

This recipe makes for 4 servings if served as an appetizer.

Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Leek and Tomato

Roasted Portobello Mushrooms with Leek and Tomato

Miso Soup

Whenever you go to a Japanese restaurant, and, even some Chinese ones, what you will always find in the menu is Miso soup. Miso soup is a Japanese soup that is made with dried seaweed, and Miso paste (made from soy). It is a delicious and refreshing soup that is served hot, but it is also good when it is warm or even chilled.

There are many ways to make Miso soup, and Japanese restaurants have their own variations. The ingredients that you are sure to find in Miso soup, in most restaurants, are: seaweed, scallion, tofu, and of course Miso paste (which is dissolved in water). The soup is not thick and doesn’t have a lot of ingredients so what you get served in a bowl is mostly the liquid. If you do not eat the soup right away, you will have to stir it before eating, as the miso paste will settle to the bottom of the bowl.

Whenever I go to a Japanese restaurant I always order Miso soup and I am such a huge fan of it that I even make it at home. The Miso soup that I make at home, however, I have yet to find served in a Japanese restaurant. I even prefer my Miso soup to theirs.

Ingredients

• seaweed: wakame (most widely used seaweed in miso soup, kelp, hijiki
• dried daikon radish
• dried shitake mushrooms (sliced)
• miso paste (red or white), I prefer white
• tofu
• roasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Take dried seaweed, dried daikon radish, and dried shitake mushrooms (sliced) and let them soak in water for about 10 minutes. (I usually place them into a pot I will make the soup in but you can use a bowl if you prefer.) If any of the ingredients you are soaking are very big, you might want to cut them into smaller pieces so it will be easier to eat once the soup is done. Remember that the ingredients will get bigger in size when they are soaked in water so be sure to not use too much of each as the soup will be too thick.
2. Once 10 minutes have passed move all the ingredients into a pot (if they are soaking in a bowl) along with the water. Add more water to the pot as needed. How much water and ingredients you add depends on how much soup you are planning to make and how you like your soup. For thicker soup add more ingredients.
3. Now that all your ingredients are in the soup bowl and there is enough water, turn on the heat to medium and let the water come to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, let everything cook for about 25 minutes or so.
4. While the soup is cooking, take out a big tablespoon of the Miso paste and put it in a small bowl. Then add a little bit of boiled warm water from the tea kettle and mix it so that the paste is even and not in clumps. As an alternative you can also just take the broth from the pot, place it in a bowl, and once it is cooled, stir in the miso.
5. After about 25 minutes have passed, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the dissolved Miso paste and mix the soup. Then put the pan back on the heat and let it cook for a few more minutes. Then turn off the heat, cover the lid, and let it sit. The soup is now ready to eat. Garnish with roasted sesame seeds and tofu cut into cubes.

Usually each piece of dried kelp is very large so you may have to cut it with a knife or scissors for easier consumption prior to eating it.

Sautéed White Eggplant

I love eggplant and one of my favorite dishes is sautéed eggplant. I usually make it with regular big purple eggplant or the small purple ones sometimes. This time I decided to try making it using white eggplant. I have never tried it before and after seeing it at the vegetable store I just had to try it.

You can always buy sautéed eggplant in a jar from your supermarket but why do that when you can make it yourself. Making sautéed eggplant couldn't be any easier. You don't need that many ingredients to create this delicious dish.

Sautéed eggplant will make for a great appetizer. You can place it on top of toasted bread or crackers or simply serve it as a salad. You can also use sautéed eggplant as a side dish when paring it with fish fillets, chicken, meat or even sausages. Another tasty idea is to serve sautéed eggplant for breakfast with an omelet or sunny side up eggs. Soft boiled eggs will complement the dish as well and I love eating it this way.

Below you will find instructions on how to prepare this sautéed white eggplant dish. I hope you try making this recipe, whether you choose to use white eggplant or another eggplant variety. Happy cooking!

Sautéed eggplant will make for a great appetizer. You can place it on top of toasted bread or crackers or simply serve it as a salad. You can also use sautéed eggplant as a side dish when paring it with fish fillets, chicken, meat or even sausages. Another tasty idea is to serve sautéed eggplant for breakfast with an omelet or sunny side up eggs. Soft boiled eggs will complement the dish as well and I love eating it this way.

Ingredients:

• 4 white eggplant
• 1 medium onion
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 medium/large tomato
• 1 Red Pepper (bell pepper or long narrow one)
• few tablespoons ketchup
• few teaspoons Aji Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine)
• sea salt
• basil (fresh and dried)
• grapeseed oil

Instructions

1. Wash and peel the eggplant and cunt vertically in half and then in half again. Then take each half and slice horizontally and set aside. The pieces should be thick but not too thick and not too big.
2. Wash a carrot, peel and cut in the same manner as the eggplant and set aside.
3. Wash your celery, trim the edges on both sides and slice. When done set aside. You can cut the celery stalks vertically down the middle first before slicing them horizontally, if you want them to be smaller in size. You don't have to do this though.
4. Wash and slice a red pepper (bell pepper or thin long one). Do the same with a tomato. When slicing a tomato make sure to have thick chunks not long slices. Set them aside.
5. Peel and slice an onion into small chunks and cook them in a skillet until golden. Remove into a bowl when done.
6. When the onions have finished cooking and you've removed them place the carrot, celery and red pepper and cook until they are tender yet still give a crunch, making sure to flip them over with a spatula and add oil if necessary. Add the tomatoes, stir, and cook together for a few minutes. Remove onto a bowl with the onions.
7. Add oil to the skillet and add the eggplant. Cook it over medium heat until tender yet still crunchy. You can always cook it until it is very soft but then it will become mushy, which I personally am not a fan of. You may want to cover it with a lid while it cooks. Note that eggplant absorbs oil fairly quickly so will have to keep adding cooking oil to the skillet otherwise the eggplant will stuck to the pan or will burn.
8. When you feel that the eggplant is just about done add all the cooked veggies to it and sprinkle with sea salt. Then in a small bowl mix a few tablespoons of ketchup and a few teaspoons of Aji Mirin (sweet cooking rice wine). Add to the pan and mix well. Add a little bit of water if you want to have more sauce. I'd add a little less than 1/4 cup. Make sure to mix everything and then cover with a lid and let cook for a few minutes or so. When done sprinkle with dried basil and add some fresh basil as well.