Scribe, ut possis cum voles dicere: dices cum velle debebis (Pl. Ep. 6.29)

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Portobello Hamburger

(Apparently all spellings are correct: portobello, portabella, and even portabello. Google has the most results with portabella, but the main entry in Merriam-Webster is portobello, so i'll stick to that.)

  • 6 portobello mushrooms (300gr?)
  • 1 pack of champignon (300gr?)
  • 1/2 glass oil (chefs say olive, but i prefer anything but)
  • 1 spoon ... of some spice you like. I put tabasco, but be wild.
  • 1 onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/2 glass breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 glass grated parmiggiano (i used pecorino and it's OK)
  • 1/2 glass california nuts, broken to pieces
  • 1/2 glass thinly cut parsley (looks like too much, but it's OK)
  • 1 egg (i used 2)
  • moscato, salt'n'pepa to taste

Cut the stipes from all the mushrooms, use them for something else later (i am frying them with potatoes). Cut to cubes, fry in smoking oil for a few minutes with a little salt, until champignons are a little brown. Take the mushrooms out, drain the fluids. Gently mix everything (except the breadcrumbs) together - don't mash the mushrooms. The eggs should hold the thing together. Make hamburger shapes any way that seems right to you. Breadcrumbs should help you shaping them, but be sure that it's not too easy, and they might fall apart. Fry the hamburgers in the oil and they will eventually stick. Try not to burn.

It's the tastiest vegetarian meal i ever made and the closest to the feel of meet - all without heavily processed substitutes (i never really got the hang of blackbean).

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