Mushroom Burger With Smoked Chilli

Let’s look at making a vegetarian version of the least vegetarian dish of them all – a hamburger. And yes, it’s possible, and even as a devout carnivore, I love this dish.

First, buy a portabello (large field mushroom) per person, and ciabatta rolls, likewise. Make a marinade with a wonderful product called chipotle chillis in adobo sauce – easily available on line, very reasonably, from Monterey Foods in Sydney on montereyfoods.com.au. Look, among canned chillies, for Embasa chipotle in adobo sauce. Less than $5 a can. Buy a case of them because they are wonderful, and I will tell you about other things you can do with them.

Now, blend 3 or four of these, with a good dollop of the sauce they are in, with 3 cloves garlic, 1 small, chopped onion, 3tbs balsamic vinegar, ½ cup olive oil, salt and pepper.

Wipe clean as many mushrooms as you need and slosh this marinade into the gill side. Marinate for 2-3 hours, and then grill on a covered, hot barbecue, gill side down, for about 4 minutes. Turn, adding reminder of marinade to gill side of mushrooms. After another three minutes, top each mushroom with a slice of compte (French gruyere) cheese, or similar, and allow to melt into the mushroom.

Split ciabattas, brush cut sides with oil and grill quickly and lightly. Lift mushrooms off grill and position on bottoms of ciabatta rolls. Top each mushroom with slices of fresh avocado, season, replace top of roll and eat. With a very cold beer.
SMOKED, BAKED APPLES.

Scoop down, from the top of the core, into a granny smith apple with a melon baller and clear space inside the apple without breaking through bottom. Do this for as many apples as you need. Make a foil ring for each apple by rolling a square of foil into a sausage and twisting into a ring for an apple to sit in. Repeat for each apple.
Spoon into each apple some whipped cream cheese, some brown sugar and some apricot jam. Place the foil ring on the cool region of a grill set for indirect cooking, and stand an apple on each ring. Cook for an hour, or until soft to the touch, remove, serve with fresh cream. And a glass of liqueur muscat.