BLACKENED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM PITA POCKETS

These portobello mushroom pita pockets are so good that they’ll get you out of bed early for breakfast: blackened portobello mushroom caps stuffed into pita pockets with fresh baby spinach, shredded cheese, garlic, and sriracha hot sauce! I like to eat these for breakfast but this tasty vegetarian recipe can be made for any meal of the day.

The portobello mushroom caps are the star of this dish. They are marinated in olive oil and blackening seasoning prior to cooking, and then finished off on the stovetop or the grill. I’ve been wanting to develop a recipe for portobello mushrooms for a while, and when I saw some fresh pita bread at the market yesterday, I knew I had to make a portobello mushroom pita pocket! Speaking of pita bread, they are great to use as a pita sandwich of sorts. This is what you do: take 1 pita round, cut in half, and you’ll end up with 2 pita pockets. The pita round is hollow on the inside, so they serve as great vessels for any kind of delicious sandwich filling that you can think of. For this recipe, I kept it simple and just had portobello mushrooms plus cheese, fresh baby spinach greens, some garlic, and sriracha hot sauce.

Here are my favorite things about this recipe:

• healthy and vegetarian: This recipe is simply just a bunch of delicious veggies stuffed into pita bread with some seasoning. It’s also low on calories and makes for a nice, light dinner.
• fast and easy: The cooking time is less than 30 minutes and except for the marinade there is very little prep involved! There are just a few main ingredients involved and it’s easy to improvise depending on your vegetable preferences.
• spicy: I’ve been craving some spicy food so this dish definitely fits the bill! The blackening seasoning packs some heat and so does the sriracha. If spiciness isn’t your thing, just leave out the hot sauce.

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Blackened portobello mushroom pita pockets

Yield: 2 servings

Serving Size: 1 pita pocket sandwich

Ingredients

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For marinating the portobello mushrooms:
• 2 portobello mushroom caps (3-4 inches in diameter)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons blackening seasoning
For putting together the pita pockets:
• 1 pita round (7-8 inches in diameter), cut in half resulting in 2 pockets
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella, jack, and cheddar all work well here)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• drizzle of sriracha, to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag and mix well so that the portobello mushrooms are well coated in olive oil and blackening seasoning. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat a pan over medium heat. Add portobello mushrooms. Cook until they are oozing liquid and blackened to your liking, at least 20 minutes. Flip them every 5 minutes. When done, turn off the heat. Alternatively, you can grill these instead.
3. Take the 2 pita pockets and slather minced garlic inside each pocket. Then heat the pita pockets on a pan over medium-low heat, about a few minutes per side.
4. Assemble the pita sandwiches: add portobello mushrooms, spinach, and shredded cheese to the pita pockets. Drizzle with sriracha, if desired. Serve immediately.