Recipe: Baked Portobello Mushroom Caps with Tahini

The assembled mushroom caps: toppings include sliced garlic, chopped green onions, tomatoes, and tahini.

These baked mushroom caps burst with bold flavors and are a favorite dinner item in my household. Serve with a side of quinoa or rice, as well as some fresh pineapple chunks.

Baked Portobello Mushroom Caps with Tahini

Ingredients:
Portobello Mushroom Caps (I like to keep most of the stem and the gills)
2-3 green onions (scallions), chopped
1 garlic clove per mushroom cap (thinly slice each clove)
1-2 tomatoes (a few chopped pieces per mushroom cap)
salt and pepper
Other favorite seasonings: I used Italian seasonings and onion powder
Tahini (ground sesame seeds; I find tubs/jars of tahini near the peanut butter at the store)
Organic sweet chili sauce or a vegan liquid sweetener of choice

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking dish. Take a paper towel and brush off the tops of the mushroom caps to remove any dirt. I don't recommend washing the mushrooms because they absorb water.

Place the mushroom caps on the baking dish gill-side up. Sprinkle with a pinch a salt on each cap. Add sprinkles of your favorite seasonings, such as Italian herbs or onion powder, etc.

Spoon about 1T of sweet chili sauce or other liquid sweetener on the mushroom. If you want to use organic sugar or coconut sugar, just use a generous pinch around the mushroom.

Next, layer your toppings: I lay the sliced garlic around the mushroom stem, then the tomatoes, and then the green onions.

Finally, I spoon about 1T of tahini around the mushroom stem.

Bake the mushrooms for 25 minutes. The mushrooms get slightly tender, darker, and soak up all the flavors from the toppings. The tahini adds a slightly bitter taste that compliments the savory essence of the mushroom. The seasonings, tomatoes, garlic, and green onions add punches of flavor, enticing aromas, and slight crunches here and there. As you slice the mushroom over your rice and pineapple, you get a nice mix of sweet, savory, tangy, bitter, and salty tastes.

These veggie steaks are filling and delicious.

I baked my mushrooms with some asparagus that I sprinkled with salt and a few drops of olive oil.

These cooked mushroom caps (above and below) are from other times I made this recipe. My husband and I ate the other mushrooms pictured on the baking sheet before I could take photos -- we were hungry :) 

Review: Vegan Shelf-Stable Bacons

photo comes from my Instagram feed

Vegan bacon products can add a salty, smoky crunch to hors d'oeuvres, such as this date appetizer. Medjool dates stuffed with Tofutti cream cheese. I mixed 2T of cream cheese with one thinly sliced green onion, 2T of chopped water chestnuts (for texture), and a pinch of salt and pepper. I topped the dates with a few pieces of Phoney Baloney's Coconut Bacon.

WayFare'S Bacony Bits add a great crunch and a slightly smoky flavor to each bite of this pasta salad. To make the pasta salad, cook 1 cup of pasta. In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup each of shredded carrots, sliced black olives, peas, sauteed mushrooms, and chopped tomatoes (you can add more or less of these ingredients to your liking). For the sauce, I mixed 1/2 cup of vegan mayo with 3 tablespoons of yellow mustard, 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and 1 salt and pepper to taste. I had 2 tablespoons of Tofutti cream cheese left, so I mixed that in as well for extra creaminess. Feel free to add other spices and hot sauce. 

Today I’m reviewing Phoney Baloney’s Coconut Bacon and WayFare’s Pig Out Whole Grain Bacony Bits.

Here are some features of both products:

• Coconut Bacon: This gluten-free product consists of 1-inch and smaller flakes of salty, smoky goodness. Upon first bite, you taste salt, and then the flake begins to dissolve somewhat in your mouth. You taste/smell the natural hickory smoke concentrate, and you get a slight kick from the spices, which include pepper. You don't taste coconut at all. The company says their product is best consumed within six months of production and is best served as a topping because “the Coconut Bacon does not hold up well in extreme heat or moisture.” The tamari used in the coconut bacon is non-GMO. The product can be purchased on the company’s website, as well as a number of other online and brick-and-mortar retailers. See the list of sellers here.

• Bacony Bits: This soy-free product is labeled as non-GMO. It’s extremely crunchy – almost like Grape Nuts cereal (if you’re familiar with that product). Upon first bite, you definitely know you’re eating bacon bits. It tastes similar to the bacon-bit products you might have tried from large commercial manufacturers. The bits are salty, but not as salty as the coconut bacon, and there’s a great smoky aftertaste that comes from the hickory smoke powder. Reviewers have said that it’s easy to snack on the product straight from the bag, and I can see why – its crunchy texture is addicting and the smoky aftertaste is satisfying. This product can be purchased from online retailers, including: veganessentials.com, vegancuts.com, and rabbitfoodgrocery.com.

I find that both products have room in the vegan-bacon market. Those who need a soy-free product can utilize the bacon bits, while those who can’t consume gluten can enjoy the coconut bacon. Phoney Baloney’s Coconut Bacon adds a nice, slight crunch and salty-smoky flavor in tomato sandwiches and as a topping on hors d'oeuvres. WayFare’s Bacony Bits keep its crunchy texture longer than coconut bacon, so it’s great atop appetizers and as a topping on pasta salad, salad greens, and anything else you where you want to add a salty, smoky, and crunchy element.

If you don’t have any diet restrictions, I urge you to try both products. You won’t be disappointed.