Mushroom and cheese burritos are a delicious vegetarian dish hearty enough to satisfy even the most die-hard carnivore in your family: a burrito stuffed with portobello mushrooms, chiles and cheese. It’s perfect for Meatless Mondays and — bonus! — all the ingredients are cooked together in a single rimmed sheet pan, which means cleanup is a snap.
Those steaklike portobellos are the ingredient around which this recipe is built. Prepping them is a two-step process. First, clean the caps by wiping them with a wet paper towel. Second, use a spoon (a grapefruit spoon is best, if you have one) to scrape out the gills on the underside of the caps. (You want to lose the gills because they become soggy when cooked and stain everything black.)
Watery as they are, mushrooms nonetheless soak up additional liquid like a sponge. In this case, the flavorings are lime juice, minced garlic and cumin, all of which are absorbed by the portobellos while the rest of the vegetables are being broiled.
First in the sheet pan is the poblano. You want to brown it lightly on all sides, which makes it easy to peel off its tough skin. (If you can’t find a poblano, you can replace it with half a small can of green chiles.) Then the onion, garlic and cherry tomatoes are broiled until slightly charred and tender. I chose cherry tomatoes because they may be small, but they boast the most tomato-y flavor when the big guys aren’t yet in season. All of these supporting vegetables are quickly chopped in a food processor while the mushrooms take their turn in the oven. The last step is to stir together all the veggies and wrap them in the tortillas.
You’re welcome to make the vegetable mixture a day or two ahead of time and keep it covered and chilled until you’re ready to wrap it in the tortillas. I like to add sharp cheddar cheese to this recipe, but if your crowd is vegan, leave it out.
MUSHROOM AND CHEESE BURRITOS
Start to finish: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 6
1 1/2 pounds Portobello mushrooms (about 6 medium to large)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for garnish
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 garlic cloves, 2 left unpeeled and 1 minced
Kosher salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus extra for oiling the poblano
1 large poblano (3 1/2-4 ounces) or half a 4 1/2-ounce can green chiles
3/4 pound large cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion, sliced 1/2-inch thick, and the slices separated
6 ounces coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese
Six 8-inch flour tortillas
1 firm ripe avocado, cut into cubes
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup sour cream whisked together with 3 tablespoons water
Hot sauce
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