Pan Seared Portobello over Roasted Garlic Mash Potatoes with Baby Bok Choy

Before I jump into this super filling and rustic recipe I wanted to share some good news from my personal life.  After over two years working at an Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar I decided I need a change so I left my job and went out to search for something more fulfilling.  And I found it! As of last week I am working at Cafe Blossom on the Upper West Side as barista/juice bar extraondier and in a surprise turn of events will also be a floor manager as well. I've never worked at an all vegan restaurant so I am super excited and I think working as a floor manager will give me great experience and insight on how a restaurant is run.

Anyway, enough of the personal/work blabbing and onto the recipe!


Grilled Portobello over Roasted Garlic Mash Potatoes with Baby Bok Choy

Ingredients:
1 large portobello mushroom cap
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke (optional)

2 medium russet potatoes
6 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of vegan butter
1/4 cup of soymilk (unsweetened is best if you have it)
Salt and pepper to taste

Small bunch of baby bok choy
2 tablespoons of cannellini beans
Salt and pepper to taste

Start off by cleaning and prepping your mushroom.  Pull of the stem, scrap the gills off (I had to look this up online to figure out what that black part was called!) and then peel off the top skin on the mushroom.  This is pretty simple to do by taking the edge of the mushroom where it curves and gently pulling back until you reach the center of them mushroom, then repeat on the next section.  Doing this really allows the mushroom to soak in so much more flavour when you marinate it.

Next you'll want to put together your marinade by whisking together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, water, basil, salt and pepper and liquid smoke if using.  Place mushroom in marinade in fridge and let sit for at least 3 hours or up until overnight.

In the meantime being roasting your garlic by drizzling a bit of olive oil over garlic cloves (keep them in their skin) and baking them in the oven on 425 for 10-15 minutes.

While the garlic is roasting peel and dice your potatoes and boil them until super tender.  Drain potatoes and mash them with a tablespoon of butter, 1/4 cup of soymilk (or more as needed until you reach your desires consistency), and salt and pepper to taste.  Remove garlic from oven, allow to cool, remove skin (it should slid off easily), and add to mash potatoes.  Stir throughly.

Wash and separate pieces of baby bok choy then sauté on low heat with cannellini beans until bok choy is slightly wilted.  Season with salt and pepper.

Lastly remove your portobello from the fridge and pan sear on medium heat for about 7 minutes on each side until mushroom softens up a bit and the white side gets nice and golden brown.  In the last minute pour the rest of the marinade into the pan and let it thicken slightly as you raise the heat.

I like to eat this with the mushroom on top of a heaping portion of mash potatoes garnished with the bok choy and beans and lastly drizzled with the reduced marinade. Hope you all enjoy!