Steak Fake

Perfect Portobellos

What first came to mind when you saw this mouthwatering dish?  I bet it wasn’t “Oh, this must be vegan/vegetarian!”  These manly mushrooms will satisfy even the biggest steak-lovers cravings.  The mouthfeel is just like a piece of steak and the marinade puts it over the top.  Trust me, if you want to add a vegan/vegetarian meal to your weekly menu rotation, this is the quickest and tastiest.

One important thing to note in this recipe is to buy organic mushrooms!  Actually every ingredient in all of my recipes are intended to be organic, so, for the best results buy organic.  Yes it is expensive, but can you put a price tag on your health?

I would give anything to go back in time and eat healthier if it meant not getting Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).  I don’t mean to be preachy, just trust me on this one. Anyway, here’s what Mercola.com had to say about the benefits and cautions of eating mushrooms. (I can just see some of you smirking right now)

“It’s important to eat only organically grown mushrooms because they absorb and concentrate whatever they grow in — good OR bad. This is what gives mushrooms their potency. Mushrooms are known to concentrate heavy metals, as well as air and water pollutants, so healthy growing conditions is a critical factor.”  Hopefully that incents you to buy (at least) organic mushrooms!

Ingredients

  • 5 Large portobello mushrooms
  • 1/4 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
  • 1/4 of a cup of coconut aminos
  • 1 Tsp of onion flakes
  • 1/2 Tsp of garlic powder
  • 1/4 Tsp of salt
  • 4 Cracks of ground pepper

Method

  1. Carefully clean the portobello mushrooms, remove the stalks and discard – keep the caps they are kind of the star of the dish 🙂
  2. Place all of the above ingredients into a large Ziploc bag
  3. Gently mix around the ingredients until all of the mushroom caps are completely covered in marinade
  4. Set aside and marinate for an hour (or longer)
  5. So what will you do with your hour? Me?  I had the joy of folding tiny people clothes!  They have a lot of clothes and that was a lot of folding! #Iwouldmuchratherbedoinganythingotherthanfolding
  6. In the meantime preheat your BBQ to medium heat
  7. Once the hour is up and the BBQ is ready, place the mushroom caps on the grill
  8. Cook on the first side for 4-5 minutes then flip and turn the heat down to medium low
  9. Mushrooms are ready when they are al dente and moist on both sides
  10. *Each BBQ is different so you will have to use your judgement for how long to cook your mushrooms
  11. You can eat the mushroom caps on their own as an appetizer, or as a main as a burger or sliced and in a salad as you see below. (Oh, and by the way, that’s lettuce from my garden in both pictures.  I’ve had an amazing harvest so far this summer).

Grilled Steak Salad

What are your favourite vegan or vegetarian recipes?  Do you have no-meat meals regularly during the week?  Inquiring minds want to know!