grilled portabella and bulgur salad "sandwiches"

the yumcoast has just arrived back from a bachelorette weekend in chicago. we had a fabulous time and ate lots of wonderful food, but now it's time to get back into the swing of things and start cooking again!

when i first saw the photo of this dish in gourmet, it took me a second to realize that the grilled portabellas act as the bread in this "sandwich" with the bulgur salad as the filling. i think this is a great summer dinner. it's filling but not heavy and the tomato vinaigrette bursts with flavor. as suggested, we served this over spicy arugula with cool avocado slices on the side. the prep time takes a little while and if you're grilling in a grill pan (like me) you probably have to do several batches to get everything cooked, so plan ahead to allow yourself some time.

grilled portabella and bulgur salad "sandwiches"
(gourmet, june 2009; serves 4)
ingredients for tomato vinaigrette:
1 large garlic clove
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes

ingredients for salad:
8 large portabella mushrooms, stems removed
1 small red onion, cut lenthwise into 1/2 inch think wedges (keeping root end intact)
2 medium yellow bell peppers, quartered lenthwise
1 medium zucchini, halved lenthwise
1 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup medium bulgar
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
4 cups arugula
1 avocado

to make vinaigrette, with motor running, drop garlic in food processor and finely chop. add tomatoes, parlsey, oil, vinegar, rosemary, red-pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and pulse until tomatoes are finelly chopped but not pureed.

to make salad, peel skin from portabellas pulling from the edge of the mushroom toward center. gently scrape off gills from mushrooms with tip of a spoon. toss portabellas with 1/2 cup vinaigrette in a 13 by 9 inch glass baking dish and let stand, turning occasionally, 20 minutes.

prepare grill or grill pan for medium heat.

push 1 wooden pick into each onion wedge to secure for grilling. toss onion wedges, bell peppers, and zucchini with oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. oil grill rack, then grill vegetables, covered, turning occasionally, until tender (6-8 minutes for bell peppers, 6-10 minutes for zucchini, 8-12 minutes for onion, 12-15 minutes for portabellas).

transfer portabellas to a plate and remaining vegetables to a bowl as cooked. cool slightly, then remove wooden picks and coarsely chop onion, bell peppers and zucchini.

while vegetables cook, pour boiling hot water over bulgur with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and let stand until water is absorbed and bulgur is tender, about 5 minutes. drain in a sieve if any water remains.

add vegetables to bulgur with pine nuts and remaining vinaigrette and toss.

put and handful of arugula on a plate. top with upside down portabella. pack bulgur mixture into a cup measure and unmold on top of portabella. top with another portabella, right side up. serve with avocado slices.

-d

romaine, grilled avocado, and smoky corn salad with chipotle-caesar dressing

show me the words 'grilled avocado' and i'm sold.

such was the case with the june issue of gourmet, which is the grilling issue and brimming with things i want to make (yes, i was pleasantly surprised to find lots of meatless grilling ideas). but it was this recipe that made me go "ohmygod ohmygod i have to make this NOW." i love avocados. but never had i ever eaten, or even thought of making, grilled avocados. what kind of avocado obsessive am i?

anyway, this recipe was all that i hoped it would be. the flavor of the grilled avocados was not so drastically different from normal ol' raw ones, which is probably at least partly because i had to use a grill pan and not a real grill, but i think the heat made them a little creamier and they were still warm when i put them on the salad which was nice. the grilled corn added another summery flavor and some crunch. the dressing was fantastic! it doesn't seem very close to "traditional" caesar dressing (which makes things easier for me!), the only non-vegan element was parmesan cheese which i replaced with almesan from veganomicon (you could also just go buy some vegan parm if you want. or maybe use some nutritional yeast?). loved the smokiness of the chipotles, especially since my grilling did not give me any smoky flavor. i definitely want to make this again and i think it would make a really great entree with some added (grilled?) tofu thrown in. below is the recipe as it's printed but, as i said, it's not too hard to replace the parmesan and make this vegan.


romaine, grilled avocado, and smoky corn salad with chipotle-caesar dressing
(from gourmet, june 2009. as printed, makes 4 entree sized portions)
ingredients:
1/4 cup grated parmesan (or replacement of your choice, almesan from veganomicon is a good choice)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ears of corn, shucked
2 firm-ripe 6-to 8-ounces avocados, halved and pitted but not peeled
1 head romaine (1 pound), tough outer leaves discarded and head quartered lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch strips

prepare grill for direct-heat cooking over hot charcoal (high heat for gas) or heat your grill pan.

put parmesan in a medium bowl and add olive oil in a slow stream, whisking. whisk in lime juice, garlic, chipotles, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

rub vegetable oil on corn and cut sides of avocados, then season with 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. grill avocados, cut sides down, and corn, covered only if using a gas grill, turning corn occasionally, until golden-brown, 3 to 4 minutes.

peel avocados and thinly slice. cut corn kernels from cobs.

toss romaine with dressing and serve topped with avocado and corn.

-d