Sloppy Portobello Joes

I am the 0ldest of 10, so when I was growing up quick and easy meals were a priority. Sloppy Joes became a family favorite, or at least Mom’s favorite. And when I married TBG, I quickly discovered that he loves Sloppy Joes too. Cheap: yes; easy: yes; Moi fave: no. But every few months I cave in, and we have Sloppy Joes for dinner. I try to make them a little healthier by substituting ground turkey for ground beef, but… not exactly health food.

Then I came across a recipe in O Magazine for Portobello Mushroom Sloppy Joes. Which led to a visit to my neighborhood Greenmarket: we stopped at the mushroom booth and bought 2lb of portobello mushrooms for about $6.

A few more purchases, and I went home and prepared the recipe (below). It was reasonably fast to prepare, and it was definitely a hit with TBG. Healthier than beef or turkey, the portobello sloppy joes were easy and nutritious and tasted gooooood.

A few months later, it was time to make portobello sloppy joes again, but this time I made it even easier:

• I didn’t remove the gills from the mushrooms, this is optional, according to taste
• instead of all the spices and sauces, I added Sticky Pig Barbecue Sauce, which we discovered while living in St Louis and now order by the case twice a year: it’s worth it

This past Sunday, we were at the Greenmarket buying portobellos, and the salesgirl asked how we were going to serve them. When we told her, she didn’t know what sloppy joes are! TBG filled her in, and she said they sounded great. They taste great too.

Moi tip: One of my newest all-time-favorite movies is Julie and Julia. Watching it I learned an important mushroom sautéing tip: don’t crowd the mushrooms. According to Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, “The mushrooms must be dry, the butter very hot, and the mushrooms must not be crowded in the pan. If you sauté too many at once they steam rather than fry; their juices escape and they do not brown.” Good to know.

Portobello Mushroom and Bell Pepper Sloppy Joes

Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, bell peppers, and onion; cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add rest of oil and mushrooms; toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft and liquid is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium. Add tomato sauce and paste, Worcestershire, oregano, Tabasco, and 3/4 cup water; stir well. Cook, stirring often, to thicken, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Spoon mixture inside hamburger buns, and add jalapeño slices on top (if using).

Recipe variations:

• Top sloppy joes with shredded Cheddar.
• Add thinly sliced eggplant to the skillet with the mushrooms.
• Omit peppers and increase mushrooms by 6 ounces.
• Substitute other varieties of mushrooms for the portobellos.

From Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook, by Laura Pensiero. Copyright (c) 2009 by Laura Pensiero. Published by William Morrow Cookbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Reprinted by permission.