"London Broiled" Portabella Mushrooms with a grilled pineapple avocado salad citrus dressing and toasted pistachios

Ash Wednesday I've been asked to appear on NBC 12 Valley Dish here in Phoenix to prepare a vegetarian meal. So, in anticipation of that, I've been playing. At the resort we used to make this amazing London Broil where we would marinate the meat for two days in this broiler marinade. The flavor is deep and rich. It's one of my favorites for the grill. Imagine my joy in discovering that the mushrooms take on that flavor in not two days but two or three minutes! It's incredible! They are even more amazing if you marinate them for 20-30 minutes.

"Beefy" Broiled Marinated Mushrooms and peppers

Marinade:

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce (for vegans use my homemade worcestersire )

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar ( I love Wild Groves  Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar)

2T honey (vegans use agave nectar or molasses )

2 cloves fresh pressed garlic

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (I love Wild Groves Ascolano Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1T fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 1/2 tsp dry ground rosemary)

1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

8 oz sliced portobello mushrooms or unsliced baby bella ( or regular white mushrooms work)

1 red bell pepper, sliced

I used rosemary from my little ol' herb garden. Isn't she pretty? I always imagine rosemary is a girl. Um. Now that sounds odd if I say that since I hack her up into little pieces and put her all over my mushrooms...but there it is. Sorry rosemary.

Use of a garlic press actually increases the effectiveness of the flavor of your garlic. It expels the natural oils. Garlic press...also good for kids play-dough day. Just saying...make sure there isn't any left over blue goop stuff from the kids. Have you ever eaten play dough from the store? It tastes like soap. Bleck. We don't want garlic soap. Not even Wolfgang Puck will ever make that into a soap or scented candle.

Combine ingredients for marinade in a large bowl.
Here are some baby bella mushrooms. These or the large ones will work for this recipe. Ya know, just an FYI. I'm sure someone will ask.
Add the mushrooms and peppers. Coat well. Heat the broiler of oven. Place mushrooms and peppers on a sheet pan. Place 6-7 inches under broiler 3-5 minutes until browned. Remove from oven and serve with grilled pineapple avocado salad.
Now. Pistachios. I bought these ones already out of the shell. If you don't...then you will need to add 45 minutes to your prep time. Yipper. It's worth the shells being off this time. Look for them in the produce section of most super markets.

Grilled pineapple avocado pistachio salad with citrus dressing

2 cups (1 lb) fresh pineapple, peeled and cut into 1 inch strips or chunks

2 avacados, peeled and sliced

1 small bag salad spinach

1/2 cup toasted pistachio (optional)

Dressing:

1/4 cup  Wild Groves  Pomegranate Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 cup orange juice concentrate

1/4 cup Wild Groves Ascolano Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1 tsp lemon zest and lime zest

Salt and pepper to taste

Lightly oil a grill pan and cook pineapple on one side 3-4 minutes until well marked. Remove from pan and place in a medium size bowl.

Combine ingredients for dressing.

Toss dressing with the pineapple. Gently fold in the avocado. Serve on a bed of spinach topped with pistachios

There you go. A quick vegetarian dinner for a middle of the week rush. We love it around here. Enjoy!