SECRET RECIPE CLUB: PORTOBELLO CAPS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE AND PROSCIUTTO

servedThe month of March brought a little too much snow and cold to The Little Apple, but we escaped to warmer weather for a week, arriving from Brazil right before the last Monday of the month.  Why is the last Monday of the month so important in the food blogging world?  Well, by now you should  know it’s The Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day!  This month, with all our activities and travel, it was a bit of a stretch to participate, but I’m very glad I did.  I was paired with a blog I had not visited before, The Saturday Evening Pot.   The host is a trained chef, and that immediately got the adrenaline pumping in my system as I browsed his site in search of recipes.  He cooks for a family of four: himself, his wife, and two kids, but to make things a lot more interesting they have food sensitivities that need to be taken in account. Not an easy task.  He does so beautifully, though, and in his site you will find extensive nutritional information for all recipes and plenty of advice for adapting recipes in case you face similar issues.  I highly recommend a visit to The Saturday Evening Pot.   It did not take me very long to choose a recipe, because I’ve been thinking of trying stuffed Portobello mushrooms for quite some time.  Great opportunity to go for it, wouldn’t you say?

served2
PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM CAPS STUFFED WITH GOAT CHEESE AND PROSCIUTTO
(from The Saturday Evening Pot)

3-4 large Portobello mushroom caps
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
4-6 ounces crumbled goat cheese
3-4 slices prosciutto

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Using a small dinner spoon, remove stems from mushroom caps and scrape out brown ribbing on underside of mushroom caps. Lay mushroom caps, stem side up, on sheet pan.  Brush each lightly with olive oil. Bake approximately 10 minutes or until mushroom browns lightly.

While mushrooms are baking, take each slice of prosciutto and cut using a chiffonade pattern.  Set aside.

Remove mushrooms from oven and turn oven setting to broil. Drizzle each mushroom cap with a small amount (approximately 1/4 teaspoon) of balsamic vinegar.  Spread vinegar evenly with the back of a spoon over inside of mushroom cap. Place one slice shredded prosciutto in each mushroom cap and sprinkle goat cheese on top of prosciutto. Place sheet pan under broiler and melt cheese until lightly browned.  Remove and serve immediately.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

cleanprepared

Delicious recipe, we will definitely be making this over and over and over, adding all kinds of goodies on the Portobello base.  My only modification was to use fig balsamic vinegar, but other than that, I followed his recipe to a T. Three mushrooms were more than enough for Phil and I, we even had half of the small one leftover.  We enjoyed them as our main dish, next to a little spaghetti with olive oil and lemon zest.  You may notice there is no salt in the recipe. Both goat cheese and prosciutto can be very salty, particularly when you roast them, so make it as written and see how you like it.  I love salt, but did not miss it.  For a full vegetarian version, sun-dried tomatoes could replace the prosciutto, or a mixture of black olives, roasted red bell peppers…  this is a nice basic method to improvise according to your mood.

If you want to see the other recipes made by friends in my group, click on the blue frog that is smiling at you at the bottom of the post.

ONE YEAR AGO:  Orange and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

TWO YEARS AGO: Pistachio-Walnut Sourdough Bread

THREE YEARS AGO: Cottage Loaf and Yeasty Dogs


WE ARE HOME!

YES! THEY ARE  FINALLY HOME!

photo(36)

When we left last week I didn’t anticipate that those six days ahead would pack so much activity! Our talks and meetings at the university could not have been any better. The organizer of my seminar  surprised me by inviting former colleagues and friends I had not seen in a decade or more, so the event was very special.  Phil’s seminar was superb (as usual ;-)). Together our talks covered two of the three lines of research we work on at the moment.  The weather was pretty bad – typical beginning of Fall in the tropics – and the traffic in Sao Paulo something that is hard to describe, and much, much harder to cope with.  All my friends and family who live there and have to deal with it on a daily basis are heroes.

I will have to disappoint those expecting pictures or descriptions of restaurants and meals.  But, I promise to compensate in the near future by sharing with you recipes from a book I received as a gift  about the food of Sao Paulo,  as well as from a cooking magazine my sister introduced me to while we were there.   Stay tuned!  😉

SPBookmagazines

For those interested in reading Brazilian cooking magazines online, a big thank you for my sister who sent me a great collection of links (the only one missing is Mais Sabor, that doesn’t have online access).

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

To welcome one of my favorite seasons, a flash-back of recipes featuring one of my favorite veggies: asparagus!   Click on the title to see the original post.


(this post will be published during my trip to Brazil, in case of problems with links, I won´t be able to fix them until we are back)

ASPARAGUS ON ASPARAGUS
aspONasp

ASPARAGUS PESTO
AspPesto

ASPARAGUS BUNDLES WITH PROSCIUTTO AND CHEESE
AspBundles

SPRING PASTA
SpringPasta

SHAVED ASPARAGUS SALAD
ShavedAsp

SPRING ASPARAGUS QUICHEQuiche

LEMONY ASPARAGUS
lemony

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS COINS AND TOMATOES
coins

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE…

americanTonight we leave for Brazil!   Phil and I will be presenting talks at the University of Sao Paulo, my beloved “USP”  where I went to college, did my PhD, and held my first job in academia…   I better do a good job with my presentation, which in typical Sally fashion, I am still tweaking…   😉

Internet connections could be iffy, so I might be unable to answer comments and visit blogs.  See you guys on March 23rd!

CELEBRATE WEDNESDAY WITH A SEAFOOD EXTRAVAGANZA

served2Phil came up with this recipe about a year ago, and it quickly became a favorite of ours.  The idea is to go to the store and get three kinds of seafood, whatever looks best. Add to that one vegetable: we usually alternate between broccoli, broccolini (love the stuff!) and asparagus.  Lately we’ve been adding fresh shiitake mushrooms too.  This is a very healthy yet substantial meal, in which the pasta is a minor component to give us just the carbs we need.

SEAFOOD EXTRAVAGANZA PASTA
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

Pick three of the following options:
Sea scallops
Large shrimp
Salmon filets
Lobster tails
Ahi tuna filets

Choose one of these veggies:
Broccoli
Broccolini
Asparagus

Fresh shiitake mushrooms, caps only
Pasta (corkscrew, farfalle, fusilli)
A couple of lemons, juice and zest
1/4  cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp vermouth
Thyme
salt and pepper

Add the 1/4 cup olive oil to a small bowl, squeeze the juice of 1 lemon, season with salt and pepper, and add the thyme.  Whisk well to form an emulsion. Use that to brush the seafood you intend to grill.

Slice the mushroom caps very thin, cut the broccoli in florets, if using asparagus or broccolini cut them in 1 inch pieces.   Saute’ the mushrooms in 1 Tbsp olive oil, when they are almost tender season with salt and pepper and add the vermouth and lemon zest.  Cover and cook for a couple of minutes. Keep warm.  Cook the veggies either in a little salted water or by steaming.  If using broccoli, shock them in cold water to keep the bright green color. Reserve.

Start grilling the seafood (salmon, lobster tail, or ahi tuna). Sautee the shrimp and scallops on 1 Tbsp olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Make sure not to over-cook the scallops and saute’ them in extra-high heat to sear the surface.   Cook the pasta to have it ready once all the rest of the food is done.  Reserve some of the pasta water in case you need it.

Once the pasta is done, drain it, put it back in the pan, add the mushrooms and broccoli, mix well.  If needed, add a little of the pasta water.  Transfer to a serving bowl, and add all the seafood on top, cutting the salmon (and lobster tails, if using) in large chunks.  Keep the scallops and shrimp whole. A squeeze of lemon juice all over the serving bowl is a nice final touch.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

composite(click to enlarge)

Comments:  I won’t sugar-coat the pill, this dish requires some effort so that all ingredients are ready at the same time for the final assembly. We always like to cook salmon and lobster tail on the grill, whereas the scallops and shrimp are sautéed on the stove.  Same for veggies and mushrooms.  You get the picture.  It is much easier if you and your partner (or friend, parent, sibling, room-mate, neighbor) cook this together.  However, usually Superman Phil is adamant about doing it all by himself. I am left watching him dash through the kitchen to the grill and back, spatula in hand, kitchen towel hanging from one shoulder, pasta water furiously boiling, and the dogs hoping that with all that activity some stuff might follow the Law of Gravity all the way to the kitchen floor.  Sometimes, it does happen… But, once all is said and done, we are rewarded with a great dinner! See my plate?  I go heavy on the scallops. I am not ashamed and will fight for the biggest, juiciest ones.   😉

platedThe pasta plays a completely secondary role. This is a dish centered on seafood and supported by a nice helping of broccoli.  Squeeze some more lemon juice right before indulging… And, if that was not enough seafood for a meal, I’ll tell  you what we love to have as appetizer before this dinner. All of a sudden, Wednesday evening feels like a party!   😉
appetizer

Heaven. Pure heaven.

ONE YEAR AGO: A Pearfect Drink

TWO YEARS AGO: Ming Tsai Under Pressure

THREE YEARS AGO: Paris, Je t’aime