Chilli Mushroom with Lime & Sea Salt Buttered Veg

A roasted filled portobello mushroom makes a great vegetarian dinner. It holds its shape and texture when cooked and releases its juices when you cut into it with a knife. In this dish it is combined with summer veg served with melting slivers of butter infused with lime, sea salt and chilli flakes.

Servings

This will make one serving, so multiply up by however many mouths you are feeding (I’ll say more about this below!)

Timings

20 mins to make the vegetable chilli filling, then 20 mins in the oven to roast.

You Will Need

• 1 stick celery
• half an onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• half a red, green or yellow pepper
• a little vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of plain flour
• half a 440g tin of kidney beans
• 300g vegetable stock
• 60g red lentils
• 1 portobello mushroom
• seasonal veg (e.g. green beans, carrots) for one, boiled or steamed
• 40g butter, softened
• zest and juice of half a lime
• a few twists of sea salt
• a few chilli flakes

Method

1. Put the chilli powder and cumin seeds in some oil, until sizzling.
2. Finely chop the onion, celery, carrot and pepper and shallow fry until softened.
3. Take off the heat and sprinkle the flour over. Turn the veg over until it is coated in the flour.
4. Add the stock and bring to the boil. When boiling, add the lentils and kidney beans. Put on the lid of the pan and simmer for 10 – 15 mins until the lentils have softened.
5. Remove the lid and let the mix reduce through evaporation, until you have a soft, thick consistency.
6. Remove the stalk from the centre of the mushroom, chop and set aside. Brush the mushroom all over with oil.
7. Fill the mushroom with the chilli mix, topping it with pieces of the stalk, gently pressed down into the mix. Place on a metal tray and roast in the oven at 180C for 20 mins.
8. While the mushroom is roasting, chop and boil or steam the seasonal veg.
9. In a small bowl, mix the butter, lime zest and juice, sea salt and chilli flakes. Place in the fridge until serving.
10. Serve up the roasted mushroom with the veg on the side. Slice off a few slivers of the butter and let melt over the veg.

Customise it!

Lots of scope for going off piste here, while sticking to the fundamentals of a roasted portobello mushroom, a chilli filling and seasoned butter for the veg. Swap in other types of lentil or pulse, and use some drops of tomato passata if you wish along with the stock. Choose whichever veg you prefer to serve on the side, and prepare it as you like it. Garlic goes well in both the chilli mix, and especially in the butter.

I’ve given the measurements to make one portion here. However, I would quite often make a larger pot of the vegetable chilli and serve some of it on other occasions, in a different way (e.g. with rice) or freeze some of it for a later date. Similarly, the seasoned butter is great with other foods, such as sweetcorn and fish, so I sometimes make a larger batch of that as well.

In other words, don’t be afraid to gross up the amounts. Stick to the instructions above and you’ll have a nice meal for one. Go larger and who knows – you may have enough to feed a Seven Nation Army. Cue the White Stripes!