Portobello Salad Warms a Chilly Day

Portobello mushrooms, which when cooked take on the texture of the most tender steaks, are delicious grilled and paired with lettuce and tomatoes for sandwich fillings or sauteed and combined with shredded cheese and herbs with pasta.

Not too long ago, for a first course I served these special mushrooms hot from the oven and filled with a creamy herbed cheese on a bed of greens tossed in a light dressing. With the temperature well below freezing outside, our guests loved the robust taste of the portobellos.

This warm mushroom salad is quick to assemble. Cleaned mushrooms are brushed with olive oil, then salted and peppered and broiled a few minutes until tender. Then they are filled with cheese and cooked only a minute or two more. Nestled on a bed of mixed greens and garnished with toasted French bread slices, they make a delectable opening course.

Although I followed this salad with some baked stripped bass, many pasta dishes garnished with light tomato sauce or grilled vegetables or even a risotto would make fine vegetarian sequels.

WARM PORTOBELLOS AND MIXED GREENS SALAD

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil

8 (3 1/2- to 4-inch in diameter) portobello mushrooms (12 to 14 ounces)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped parsley (flat leaf if available)

4 to 5 ounces light herbed cream cheese (such as light Boursin)

4 cups mixed greens (such as mesclun or a combination of Boston lettuce, red leaf and spinach), cleaned and torn into bite-size pieces

8 (1/3-inch-thick) slices French bread, cut on the diagonal and toasted

Combine vinegar, salt and couple of grinds of pepper in nonreactive salad bowl and whisk to blend. Whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil and set aside. (Dressing can be made 2 to 3 hours ahead. Cover and leave at cool room temperature. Whisk to blend before using.)

Clean mushrooms by wiping them with damp paper towel. Twist off and discard stems.

Combine remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and parsley and brush mushrooms well on all sides with oil. Generously salt and pepper mushrooms on both sides. Arrange mushrooms, rounded side up, on foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Broil about 2 minutes, then turn and broil 2 to 3 minutes more or until mushrooms are browned and completely tender when pierced with knife.

Remove from oven but retain oven temperature. If mushroom caps have liquid in them, use kitchen towel to pick up mushrooms and pour out liquid. Spread about 1 tablespoon herbed cheese evenly in cavity of each mushroom. Return mushrooms to oven and broil just until cheese starts to melt, 1 minute or less.

To serve, toss mixed greens with dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. Arrange greens on 4 salad plates. Place 2 warm mushrooms on top of each portion. Garnish each with 2 slices toasted bread.

Makes 4 servings.