I love to cook, Mr. boyfriend can’t complain about that. Being a vegetarian made me step up a notch on my cooking skills and turning my kitchen into an experimental lab also helped mastering the art throughout the years. So truth be told i hate following recipes, improvise a lot following my gut, well mostly taste buds – unless it’s a cake or some other baked dessert.

Cheesy Portobello Mushrooms stuffed with red pepper and crispy new potatoes

It’s a Jamie Oliver-ish kind of dish, with lots of veggies and fresh herbs. This was the first time I ever tried this, but the combination of ingredients sounded perfect for a late Sunday lunch. It takes about 35 mins to prepare.

Crispy new potatoes
1/2kg of new brown skinned potatoes
Olive oil
Garlic cloves
Salt
Dried oregano

Turn on the oven at 250ºC. Cut the potatoes in quarters. Remember the smaller they are, the faster they’ll cook. Put them in a tray, with olive oil, 3 unpeeled garlic cloves and a pinch of salt and oregano. Put them in the oven, lower the temperature to 200ºC and turn on the top grill. They’ll be ready when a golden crispy crust appears. Takes about 20 minutes, but try to keep an eye on them so they don’t overcook and burn.

Cheesy mushrooms
4/6 Portobello mushrooms (depending on how many people you have, serves 2 mushrooms per person)
1 Jar of roasted red pepper
Garlic cloves
Fresh parsley
Fresh basil
Grated vegan mozzarella (or any cheese of your choice)- I recommend Daiya or Cheezly Mozzarella (melts similarly to dairy cheese)
Olive oil
Salt, Pepper and Paprika

Wash the mushrooms to clean out all the dirt. Let them rest.
Cut the roasted red pepper in cubes, chop the parsley, basil and 2 garlic cloves and add them to the mixture. Put some olive oil in the pan and the add the red pepper. Add 1 or 2 unpeeled garlic cloves. A pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper and other of paprika for seasoning. You’ll get something like this.

Smash the mixture with a fork until you get a roughly mashed red pepper paste.
Soak the mushrooms in the pan and let them absorb the juices. Then put the mushrooms in a tray and the  mashed pepper mixture on top. Sprinkle with the vegan mozzarella, and put it in the oven until the cheese is all melted.

Roasted Asparagus
You can cook some asparagus on the side, roast them in a grilling pan with olive oil and a pinch of salt, so they don’t end up bland.

There you go, veggie awesomeness!

Yummmm! Bon appétit,

Rita Fontes♥