Ellie Krieger's Portobello Panini

I love finding ways to use my Cuisinart GR-4 Griddler for quick and easy weeknight meals. Last night was no different after another t-ball game. I frequently toss together cheese quesadillas for My Boys on nights like this. This time, however, I wanted something healthy and filling for myself.

I pulled out another favorite cookbook,The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life, for inspiration. When I saw the recipe for Portobello Panini with Gorgonzola and Sun-Dried Tomatoes I immediately knew this was going to be delicious! With the three main ingredients being some of my favorites, I could understand why Ellie mentions umami as a way to describe this panini.

From Family, Friends and Food

This panini was so filled with flavor! The gorgonzola melted into the sun-dried tomatoes and the combination made each of these ingredients even better than they would be on their own. I loved that the portobellos were used in place of bread and are such a meaty mushroom which made this a very filling meal for me. I will be making this again soon as busy weeknights are a part of our normal routine.

These amazing paninis are only 90 calories for each serving! Yes, ONLY 90 calories! Total fat is 7 grams and with 2 grams of fiber, those on WW should be calculating this out to be only a few points (I don't have my points calculator handy or I'd share the exact amount).

If you love portobello mushrooms as much as I do, you'll want to check out these blogs:

Annie's Eats decided to make a Bobby Flay recipe for Grilled Portobellos Stuffed with Sausage, Spinach and Mozzarella. My mouth was watering just reading the ingredients!

Over at Love and Olive Oil, you'll find not 1 but 2 fantastic recipes for portobello mushrooms!

Portobello Panini with Gorgonzola and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Source: Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave

Ingredients

• 4 sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed)
• boiling water
• 4 portobello mushrooms
• 1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Reconstitute the sun-dried tomatoes by soaking in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove from water, pat dry with a paper towel, then chop.
2. Slice the stems from the mushrooms so that they will lay flat. Slice each cap in half so you have 8 mushroom slices. Top half of the mushrooms with 1 tablespoon of chopped tomatoes and 1 tablespoon of cheese. Top with the remaining mushroom slices. Brush the top side of each "sandwich" with some of the oil.
3. Preheat a large non-stick skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Place the mushroom sandwiches in the hot pan, oiled side down and cook for about 2 minutes. Brush top half with oil and flip with a spatula and cook until mushroom softens and starts to brown. Season with salt and pepper.