Mushroom and Mozzarella Breakfast Muffin

Gosh it’s been a very busy couple of months, so when I recently had some time off work I completely crashed. I have been sleeping … pretty much all day, eating whatever is easiest to cook and been brain-dead as I’ve tried to recover from the manic September.

I have still had a health conscious and wallet conscious attitude to cooking even through my laziness so I have been preparing a lot more vegetarian meals. Not only because vegetables generally don’t take very long to cook but also because I don’t have to do very much forward planning. I find forward planning with meat is essential as I tend to buy meat for the month all in one go and freeze it to make it last, which in turn means time to defrost. I don’t have a microwave so speedy defrosting is not an option.

But you know what eating more vegetarian meals actually gives me a chance to be creative. My laziness forces me to question how I can make mushrooms and butternut squash into a delicious meal that doesn’t require meat to make me satisfied but also pleases my man-friend who always has a disappointed look on his face when I talk about lentil curry or vegetarian burgers.

So over the coming posts I am going down a vegetarian route, sharing with you the “vegetarian” meals that for me have worked. I say vegetarian in inverted commas as the meals can range from being strictly vegan to what I like to call vegetable friendly, which mostly a vegetarian meal topped with a sprinkling of bacon. The meat generally adds nothing extra to the dish and is added simply to avoid arguments with the other half.

I’ll start off with my breakfast bap of Portobello mushrooms with mozzarella. I have to say this muffin doesn’t look its best in shades of beige but it is incredibly delicious. I have made it time and time again for breakfast and also as a super quick, but tasty sandwich for work. I’ve played around with the cheese and found that a combination of thinly sliced mozzarella and some shaved sharp mature cheese, like a super strong Glastonbury Cheddar or some parmesan works the best with the mushrooms.

The mushrooms retain a lot of liquid which can make your bread pretty soggy after a while. It’s not noticeable if you are going to eat your sandwich immediately but if you’re going to take it to work, fry the mushrooms in advance or drain them with kitchen towel before putting in your sandwich.

But what you end up with is a buttery earthy meaty mouthful of mushroom followed by a tang of creamy cheese. To make it even more filling for breakfast, add a fried egg and you’re sorted for the day. Simples.

Ingredients

4 portobello Mushrooms

1/2 ball of Mozzarella, sliced

2 English Muffins, halved and lightly toasted

Cheddar cheese

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Butter

Recipe

Heat a frying pan and then prepare your mushrooms but slicing in half so you end up with two discs of similar thickness. This will help speed up the cooking time. Put some oil in the pan and lay your mushrooms slices and sprinkle generously with black pepper. Cook on each side for around 3-5 minutes on a medium heat. Drain on a paper towel. 

Butter your muffins, then lay a slice of mushroom, then a slice of mozzarella, a sprinkle of salt and some shavings of cheddar. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms and cheese. Eat.