Most of you know that Larry loves to experiment in the kitchen, while I am strictly a cookbook cook! A friend shared her portobellos with us the other night.
“What’s for dinner?”, he asked.
“How about basil and prosciutto pizza with goat cheese?” I replied.
“Uhm” he replied. “What about using the mushrooms?”
“Go for it!” I replied. Et voila, here is the result complete with a pic so you can see how great it looked. BTW…it was fantastic!!!
The recipe…two per person!
Grilled Portobellos with Goat Cheese and Figs
Ingredients
4 large Portobello mushrooms
200 g package of (herbed) goat cheese
1 tsp chopped garlic
3 strips of precooked bacon or use slightly cooked prosciutto
3 Tbs of fresh basil , small pieces
Balsamic glaze
Olive oil
10 fresh figs, thinly sliced
Chinese 5 spice powder* available in most supermarkets…
Preparation
Soften the goat cheese so it is spreadable.
Prepare a ribbed grill pan, brush it with olive oil and place over medium heat. Remove stem from mushrooms, chop it finely and set aside.
Brush both sides of the mushrooms liberally with olive oil.
Cut bacon into one inch pieces onto a doubled sheet of paper towel and microwave one minute. Set aside.
Into a small fry pan, put a Tbsp. of olive oil and put over medium heat. Add the chopped mushroom stems and the garlic and fry for about 3 minutes. Turn off heat.
Place the sliced figs in a single layer in a pan large enough to accommodate them. Sprinkle water, one tablespoon at a time, enough so that the slices won’t stick to the pan and simmer them just long enough to soften the slices. Turn off heat and let sit until needed.
Place the mushrooms topside up on the grill and grill for about 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a microwavable plate and microwave on high for one minute. Transfer back to the grill, topside down this time. Cover the surface of each mushroom with a generous coating of cheese, place the chopped mushroom mixture, then the slices of fig over the cheese.
Then add the bacon bits, and finally the basil pieces. Sprinkle sparingly with Chinese 5 Spice powder. Drizzle with balsamic glaze. By this time the mushrooms should be cooked through….soft but not mushy. Plate and serve.
Buen provecho...2022 
wow, this looks like such fun, Reg! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe 🙂 I have never used fresh figs before, much less in a savory preparation. This is a must-do for me, thank you!!
sounds fabulous. where did you find fresh figs, my tree is conspicuously bare at the moment!
Superama