Ingredients:

3 large portobello mushrooms

For the mushroom marinade:

2 teaspoons soy sauce

Few drops liquid smoke

1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced/chopped finely

Thyme (a few sprigs of fresh or ½ teaspoon dried)

For the burger pattie:

1 large onion, finely diced

1 tablespoon olive or other mild flavoured vegetable oil

½ cup cashews (or other nuts or seeds)

¼ cup small pieces TVP

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Large pinch white pepper or black pepper

Angel Food mozzarella

 

Instructions:

1.        Wipe the mushroom caps clean. Using a small sharp knife, carefully remove the stalks and set them aside to add to the burger mix. Place the mushrooms, gill side up, on a plate.

2.        Combine the marinade ingredients (soy sauce, liquid smoke, vinegar, sesame oil and garlic) in a bowl or jug and pour over the mushroom gills. It will gradually soak in. Set aside while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

3.        In a large pan on medium heat, fry the diced onion (and the mushroom stalks, finely chopped) in the olive oil until it is softed and starting to colour, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

4.        Preheat oven to 180C.

5.        Put the cashews in a food processor and pulse until they have the texture of coarse crumbs. Add the fried onion (keep the pan handy, you’ll use it again in a moment) and pulse again. You don’t want a completely smooth texture, so don’t blend too much.

6.        Transfer the cashew/onion mix back into the pan (not on the heat – you’re just using it as a mixing bowl this time) and add the other pattie ingredients: TVP, tomato paste, soy sauce, paprika and pepper. Stir well (a spatula is great for this) to combine.

7.        Top each mushroom with a layer of Angel Food mozzarella (sliced or grated). Divide the burger pattie mix into equal portions, form each into a pattie shape using your hands and top each mushroom with a pattie, pressing it down gently so it fills the mushroom cap.

8.        Wrap each mushroom in foil, place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.

9.        Serve in burger buns with your must-have burger fixings and condiments.

 

Notes:

If you don’t have TVP, coarse breadcrumbs would work as well.

The cashews can be replaced with other nuts (walnuts are delicious in this) or sunflower/pumpkin seeeds.

We made three of these as per the recipe but only ate two of them – the third one we sliced up and put in wraps for lunch the next day and it was luscious.

Baking the mushrooms in foil stops them drying out. They do release some juice while they bake – tip it into a plastic container and freeze, to add to future soups/stews/salad dressings.