Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Wellington

There's not much to say about this mushroom main dish except that it is incredible. The meatiness of the grilled mushroom is perfectly complemented by the richness of the stuffing. The puff pastry adds a nice crunchy texture to the dish, and it all comes together nicely.

We served this wonderful dish with a baked sweet potato topped with brown sugar and butter and a side salad that included local pears and blue cheese. Think of it as an updated version of an 80's throwback dinner menu that's easy enough for a weeknight, but fancy enough to serve to guests.

Marinade:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1 teaspoon red miso
1/4 teaspoon salt

black pepper

Whisk ingredients together until well incorporated. Pour mixture over the gill-side of two large (or 4 small) whole portobello mushroom caps. Allow mushrooms to marinate for a half hour. Starting gill-side-down, grill mushrooms over a high flame for about 4 minutes per side. While mushrooms are cooking, place a brick or cast iron pan on top to flatten them.

Stuffing:

knob of butter

1 leek (cleaned, trimmed, and sliced)

1/2 cup apple juice

1 cup button mushrooms (sliced)

2 sprigs thyme

2 oz. soft goat cheese

1 egg

1/4 cup panko

salt & pepper

puff pastry (or phyllo dough)

olive oil

Preheat your oven to 375. Over medium heat, slowly cook the leeks in the butter. This should take about 15 or 20 minutes. Once the leeks have softened, turn up the heat and add the apple juice to deglaze the pan. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Place leeks in a mixing bowl to cool. Now sauté mushrooms in the hot pan until brown. Add mushrooms to leek mixture and allow mixture to cool. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to incorporate. The mixture should be thick, not loose. Divide stuffing among the mushrooms and place on a baking sheet. Cut puff pastry into rounds that equal the size of the mushroom, brush each round generously with olive oil, and place on the baking sheet. When the pastry is brown, the filling should be coked through. This should take about 20 minutes. To serve, top each stuffed mushroom with a puff pastry.