Mushroom Burger

They say this burger is not just a simple burger... It's the edition de luxe! Vegetarian burger, with marinated mushrooms grilled on the grill. Honestly, if you're tired of the original version or just to try a new recipe, this one is really worth it.

The originality of the dish is not only in making a burger with the mushroom as the starring ingredient, but they are marinated and served with a very tasty tomato and onion sauce. I'm convinced it will become a regular at your casual dinners.

For both the bread and for grilling the mushrooms, we used the ribbed iron griddle. Cast iron, because it reaches much higher temperatures than nonstick, which helps retain flavor and to toast and sear quickly. On the other hand, we chose the ridged one because it's the way to get those very aesthetic grill marks, but you can use the flat grill exactly the same: the lines won't be marked but it will be just as wonderful in flavor.

Le Creuset round grill pan

Ingredients (for 6 people)

• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• A few sprigs of thyme
• Freshly ground pepper
• Salt
• 6 mushrooms (Portobello)
• 6 hamburger buns
• 6 slices of cheddar cheese
• 100gr arugula

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 large tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon fresh or dried basil, chopped
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. To prepare the tomato sauce, finely chop the onion and crush the garlic (you can do this with the side of a knife blade, pressing down on it). Cut the tomatoes into small pieces.
2. Mix the onion, garlic and tomato in a bowl with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season with basil, pepper and salt. Cook it in a pan over low heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic, thyme leaves, pepper and salt in a bowl. Spread the mixture over the mushrooms and let them marinate for about 15 minutes.
4. Cut the hamburger buns in half and place the halves on the iron grill, cut side down until golden. Once removed, grill the mushrooms on the same grill.
5. Place a little tomato sauce on the bottom half of the bun, add a slice of cheddar, the roasted mushroom and arugula. Top with the other half of the bun and serve immediately.