Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Peppercorn Sauce

If you want a great recipe to serve your vegetarian friends, look no further.

Grilled Portabello Mushrooms au Poivre
(with comments below)

Creating a meal for some vegetarian friends allowed me the opportunity to try Veggie-Glace Gold (meatless Demi-Glace). I have written about some of their other products in the past and was excited about trying to create a tasty au poivre sauce without a meat base.

My friends loved the combination and were amazed at both the richness and flavor the sauce added to the mushrooms. I served the dish with sautéed spinach with pine nuts (my wife has this down to a science) , couscous and a salad of mixed greens with asparagus. We served a Californian Pinot Noir that complemented the peppery sauce wonderfully.

Reluctant Gourmet’s Tips

1. Cracked pepper corns: I opted for putting the peppercorns in a zip lock bag and cracking them on my cutting board with a hammer. Noisy, but it worked. Otherwise, set your pepper mill to course grain instead.
2. Try some spray olive oil in a can, its great anytime you grill.

Grilled Portabello Mushrooms au Poivre (Serves 4)
Technique = Marinating & Grilling

• 1 lb. shallots, finely chopped
• 1 oz. Butter (1/4 stick)
• 1 Tb. Cracked Peppercorns
• 1/2 cup Red Wine
• 1 - 1/2 oz Veggie-Glace Gold*
• 5 fl. oz. Hot water
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• Salt to taste
• Marinate - I used olive oil, balsamic vinegar, S&P
• 5 large Portobello mushrooms
• Spray olive oil in a can* *

* Your can learn more about Veggie-Glace Gold and where to find it at GatewayGourmet on the Internet.

* *Substitute another cooking oil and brush or wipe it on the grill.

Chop the shallots and parsley. Marinate the mushrooms and reconstitute the veggie glace gold. Now you are ready to begin.

au Poivre sauce

Start by heating the butter over medium high heat and sauteing the shallots until translucent. De glaze with red wine, add peppercorns, and reduce until most of the wine is gone.

Add the Veggie-Glace Gold and hot water stirring (with a whisk if you have one) constantly until the Veggie-Glace is dissolved. Simmer until the sauce has thickened enough to coat a spoon, approximately 6-8 minutes.

Add finely chopped parsley, stir, and serve over the sliced portobellos.

Grilled Portabello Mushrooms

De-stem the mushrooms and marinate the tops for a least an hour. Heat your grill to medium hot. When the grill is ready, spray it with the olive oil in a can to prevent the mushrooms from sticking.

Grill the mushrooms for approximately 4-5 minutes per side. Slice (1/2 inch strips) and serve with the au Poivre sauce.

Enjoy

For some of my favorite Grilling Tips

Email Comment:

Hello: I just found your "Grilled Portobello Mushrooms au Poivre" recipe. It looks delicious and I am planning on trying it. One question, it says to marinate the mushrooms. It doesn't say in what. I know the sauce is to be served over the portabellas, but do I also marinate with it too? Could you please clear up my confusion?Thank you, Kelly

Kelly, The marinade consists of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt & pepper. I do marinate the mushrooms first but I can see why it looks confusing.

The marinade will do two things:
1. Give the mushrooms an additional layer of flavor.
2. Help in the cooking process.

If you think the balsamic vinegar will confuse the overall flavor, leave it out. I would still marinate them in a zip lock bag with olive oil and salt and pepper. The oil will keep them from burning when you place them on the grill.

Here's a little experiment you might try. Marinate one with balsamic and oil and one just in oil and see which flavor you like best. Please let me know your results. RG