A new twist on a "steak" sandwich

My eldest daughter, Genevieve, is not a vegetarian…and says she has no intention of becoming one. She likes meat, she says, so she intends to keep eating it.
She recently gave me a recipe for a steak sandwich that she created for her boyfriend. She thought Steve would enjoy it as well. I think that steak can be replaced with portabello mushrooms in just about any sandwich, so I thought I’d adapt her recipe to a vegetarian diet with a simple switch from meat to fungus.
Portabello mushrooms are large, thick mushrooms which cook up very much like a steak. The flavorings that go well with steak go equally well with these mushrooms. They hold together well when grilled and have a soft, yet slightly chewy texture that can sometimes fool meat eaters who are expecting a sandwich steak.
No one will ever be fooled into thinking a mushroom is a Porterhouse or a T-Bone, but on a sandwich the mushrooms are just as good for those who eat meat and a delight for those of us who don’t.
While Genevieve rejects the vegetarian lifestyle and won’t eat a fungus of any sort…including mushrooms, I think she’d find this sandwich as satisfying as the original, if she’d give it a try. For those who don’t eat meat and don’t have an aversion to mushrooms, I think this sandwich will quickly become a lunch or dinner favorite.
Genevieve’s Portabello Steak Sandwich
2 Hoagie rolls cut in half
1 tablespoon of mayonnaise (or the soy equivalent)
2 large Portabello mushrooms
¼ red onion, chopped
¼ cup of Worcestershire sauce
Pepper to taste
Horseradish Cheddar, sliced thinly
A hand full of spinach leaves
  • Remove the stems and the ribs from the mushrooms.
  • Sprinkle with pepper and marinate the caps for about half an hour.
  • Remove from the marinade and cook them on the grill until they are heated all the way through.
  • Spread the mayo on the rolls and sprinkle with a bit of pepper. Top one side with spinach leaves.
  • Cut the mushrooms in half and place the two halves on each of the rolls.
  • Sprinkle half of the onions over the mushrooms on each of the sandwiches.
  • Top with a generous helping of cheese and place under the broiler until the cheese bubbles.

Vegetarian.


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