Grilled Portabello Mushroom Burgers

With the 4th of July just a few days away, I’m sure many of you are planning an outdoor menu based around the grill. I know we are!

This delicious vegetarian burger is the marriage of two of my favorite summer dishes: the caprese salad and grilled portabello mushrooms.

I made this super quick dinner the other night when I had less than 3.8 minutes to get dinner on the table. It was just one of those days. It was a hectic afternoon into early evening and everyone in my house was hungry and cranky. I put the Mr. in charge of firing up the grill and watching the kids outside, while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. 15 minutes and a glass of wine later, dinner was served. We took our plates to the front patio and sat for what felt like the first time all day. After devouring these burgers, we finally relaxed. With a second glass of wine hand, it was one of those days after all, we sat on the porch watching the kids and enjoying another beautiful evening that Park City is well known for.

The mushrooms are the “meat” in this burger. Mushrooms are a vegetarians best friend. Meaty, filling and a great stand in for some ground carcus. Yes, I just said carcus. The mushrooms need minimal prep. Once you scrape the gills from the inside of the mushroom, they only need 10 (or 3.8 if that’s all you’ve got!) minutes to marinate. The mushrooms are like little sponges soaking up the balsamic-soy marinade quickly.

To go with the mushrooms you’ll need sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, some red leaf lettuce and a bit of pesto aioli.

Aioli is just a fancy way of saying flavored mayonnaise. Feel free to use store bought pesto if that’s all you have but this is the perfect recipe to use the homemade basil pesto that I shared with you on Wednesday. I use a 3:1 ratio when making the aioli. Don’t be afraid to adjust this to your liking. I used 3 tablespoons of pesto mixed with 1 tablespoon mayonnaise for two burgers. It was just enough for the two of us so if you like your burgers saucy, make a little extra.

Buttering the buns and grilling them for a few minutes before serving just adds to the deliciousness. I was just about to tell you that this step isn’t necessary but that would be a lie. Buttering anything is necessary.

I’m linking this recipe up with the fabulous ladies, Dara from Cookin’ Canuk, and Marla from Family Fresh Cooking. They are hosting a fun recipe link up this summer called Get Grillin. There are many prizes to be won and even more recipes to add to your summer arsenal. This weeks theme was vegetarian dishes and this burger was too good not to share. Head over to their blogs to check out the other fantastic vegetarian dishes people are making.

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful 4th of July. Until next week, here’s to outdoor bbq’s with great food, too much time in the pool (covered with sunblock, I hope!) , great firework shows, and most importantly, spending some quality time with family and friends.

Cheers!