Portobello With Caramelized Onions & Goat Cheese

A turkey burger with sweet potato fries has pretty much become a staple when I'm planning my meals out. I'm always looking for something new to add to my repertoire, though, and I felt inspired after watching an episode of The Chew at the gym where they made a "portobello blue cheese sandwich." I thought I'd make my own version and I liked this recipe because it didn't involve exact measurements of ingredients. I also left out the bun since that's always the first thing to get cut from my budget and diet.

What You Need: 

1 Portobello Mushroom

1 Small Onion

Balsamic Vinegar

Olive Oil

Goat Cheese

Sugar

Salt and Pepper

What You Do:

1. Scrape the gills out of the under side of the portobello mushroom cap. The gills are the dark brown, wispy "stuff" for lack of a better word seen below. I made sure that the stem was trimmed down but did not remove it - it cooked down just fine for me. 

2. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar in the mushroom and spread it around. I made a few shallow cuts into the mushroom to help it marinate and absorb the oil and vinegar more easily. Then, season it with salt and pepper.

3. Cook on medium heat uncovered for 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes.

4. Add the caramelized onions and goat cheese to the underside of the mushroom and cover. Add a splash of water so that the immediate steam helps melt the cheese quickly.

5. Uncover and serve.

I didn't have any arugula when I made this but I would recommend topping with some greens and serving with a side of roasted brussels sprouts. You could also use a toasted bun to make it a real burger wannabe!

*For the caramelized onions, saute thinly sliced onions in a pan with oil over medium-high heat. As they soften and become translucent in color, add a pinch of sugar so that they caramelize nicely.

Do you have any alternatives to standard burgers? Please share!