Juicy Bella
You know the Juicy Lucy, right? It's a cheese-stuffed burger that was born in Minneapolis in the 1950s, and legend has it that it got its name when the first patron took a bite and exclaimed, "That's one juicy lucy!" Well, my friend Erin Meister, who blogs as The Nervous Cook, sent me her take on it: a marinated portobello mushroom cap stuffed with a runny-yolk egg. A total umami bomb and, like the Juicy Lucy, a mess to eat. But when you're cooking for yourself who cares if you have egg on your face? Erin marinates the mushroom in a miso-vinegar mixture, but since I usually have Sesame Miso Vinaigrette on hand, it's perfect to use here, too. If you don't have it, substitute 1 tablespoon of white miso in 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar. If you don't have a grill, don't sweat it; you won't get the smoky tinge, but this works just fine instead, using a cast-iron skillet or grill pan fitted with a lid (or aluminum foil).
Ingredients
Makes 1 sandwich
Step 1
Turn the mushroom cap stem side up. To make room for the egg, use a spoon to gently scrape out the dark brown gills from the underside of the cap, and discard them. Pour the vinaigrette over the mushroom in a shallow bowl and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes. Turn the mushroom a time or two in the marinade.
Step 2
Meanwhile, preheat a gas grill to medium heat or build a small fire in a charcoal grill; the coals will be ready when they have burned down to smoldering and are covered in white ash, and you can hold your hand 4 inches above the grill for no more than 4 seconds. Clean the grates and brush them with oil. Grill the onion rounds on both sides until they are deeply browned and starting to collapse. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Step 3
Grill the mushroom cap gill side down until deeply browned, just a few minutes. (Watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't burn.) Turn it over, and carefully crack an egg into the mushroom cup. Sprinkle it lightly with salt, close the grill, and cook just until the white has set but the yolk is still runny, another few minutes. Transfer to the plate.
Step 4
If desired, grill the bun or pita halves lightly on both sides. Spread the mustard on one of the bun halves, top with lettuce, grilled onion, egg-stuffed mushroom, and the other bun, and eat.
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