Portabella Burger with Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli

For Memorial Day/Meatless Monday, swap a hamburger for a grilled portabella burger to enjoy a hearty, healthy cookout. The portabella mushroom has deep taste and meaty texture, so it works well for home grillers.

The portabella measures up to 6 inches in diameter and has a tan or brown cap. Like other mushrooms, the low-calorie portabella is naturally fat-free and low-sodium, yet provides nutrients such as selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin and more.

The portabella is a larger version of the crimini mushroom (sometimes criminis are marketed as “Baby Bellas”), says Food and Nutrition Magazine from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. At the grocery store, look for a firm texture, even color and tightly closed caps. At home, refrigerate mushrooms in a paper bag for up to a week, though it’s best to use them within a few days. Most mushroom stems are edible, but remove the stem of the portabella before preparing it to eat.

Do not soak any kind of mushroom, because they get soggy. Instead, lightly brush them off with your finger, then rinse and pat dry with a paper towel.

Busy in Brooklyn created the Grilled Portabella Burger with Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli for the Mushroom Council. Give it a try and tell us how you like it in the comments.

Ingredients, Portabella Burgers:
4 portabella mushrooms
2 Tbsp., olive oil
4 slices, low-fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup, arugula
1 beefsteak tomato, sliced into rings
1 red onion, sliced into rings
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 whole-wheat burger buns

Ingredients, Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli:
1/2 cup, light mayo
3 sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 tbsp., olive oil from sun-dried tomato jar
1 clove garlic
juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions, Portabella Burgers:

1. Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan.
2. Lightly clean the mushrooms and brush with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Grill for about five minutes per side. While the mushroom is still on the grill, top with slice of mozzarella cheese.
4. If desired, toast the burger bun on the grill. Top with sundried tomato aioli, arugula, Portabella mushroom with cheese, tomato and red onion.

Directions, aioli:

• Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

 This post was written by Nancy Copperman, RD, corporate director of public health initiatives in the office of community and public health at the North Shore-LIJ Health System.

For more North Shore-LIJ Health Blog posts, go to http://blog.northshorelij.com/ 

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