A Simple, Delicious Dish
My wife is an aspiring writer and has a fondness for Cumbria’s Lake District in the UK. She has visited several times and would jump at the chance to live there if the opportunity presented itself. We often watch our local PBS on Sunday nights which features various shows from the BBC.
On one such night, we watched Country House Secrets (S1 Ep4), featuring Mary Berry, in which she tours the great estates of Great Britain. In this episode, Mary visited Goodwood House, where she prepared a simple breakfast for Lord March. The dish is a sautéed portobello mushroom stuffed with a thick slice of sautéed tomato, topped with Welsh rarebit sauce, and is simple enough, though it’s not given on the BBC website, so I am recreating it here.
I was surprised at how delicious this is. The English muffin is essential to catch goodness oozing through the sautéed mushrooms and tomato.
After removing the stem of the portabello mushroom, use a spoon to gently remove the mushroom gills, scraping down towards the center.
Melt the butter and briefly sauté the minced shallots. While this looks like a lot of butter, the mushrooms will act as a sponge.
Cook the mushrooms slowly over medium to medium-low heat to prevent the shallots from browning too much.
The mushrooms should be soft all the way through but still, hold their shape. Reserve and keep warm.
Thickly slice a ripe red tomato. The tomato will need to be thick, so it doesn’t disintegrate while cooking.
Cook the tomato slices over medium heat in the same pan as the mushrooms.
Make a rustic Welsh Rarebit by mixing sharp cheddar cheese with high-quality Dijon mustard and one egg per two servings. Mix the ingredients well. Reserve.
Place the cooked mushrooms on a broiler-safe pan.
Place the cooked tomato slices on top of each mushroom.
Top with the cheese/rarebit mixture and broil in the oven until just browned.
Remove the stuffed mushrooms from the broiler.
Toast an English muffin or thick sliced bread and place it on the serving dish.
Use a spatula to place a stuffed mushroom onto each slice of bread carefully and serve.
Heirloom Tomato Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Simple Welsh Rarebit
Equipment
- saute pan
- slicing knife
- tablespoon
- cutting board
- broiler
- broiler safe pan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
Mushroom/Tomato/Bread Prep
- 2 whole portobello mushrooms, with gills removed
- 1 tbsp shallot, minced
- 4 tbsp melted butter, good quality
- ⅛ tsp white pepper/salt mix
- ½ whole heirloom tomato, thickly sliced and sautéed
- 1 whole English muffin, split and toasted
Simple Welsh Rarebit
- ¾ cup sharp cheddar, shredded (Traditionally good white Cheddar is used)
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp chives, chopped or sliced (garnish/optional)
Side Dish Suggestions
- 2 portions bacon/streaky bacon or grilled breakfast sausages
- 2 portions green salad with vinaigrette
Instructions
Preparing the Portobello Mushrooms
- Remove the stems from the mushroom and using a spoon, gently remove all the mushroom gills by scraping down towards the center.
- Using a sauté pan, melt the butter and sauté the minced shallots for only a minute or two.
- Add the mushrooms to the shallots and butter, gill side up, and cook slowly over medium-low heat. The mushrooms should be soft all the way through but maintain their shape. Once cooked, remove the mushrooms and reserve.
- Thickly slice a ripe red tomato and cook over medium heat in the same pan used for the mushrooms.
Preparing the Welsh Rarebit
- Add the shredded sharp cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard, and one egg (per two servings) in a mixing bowl. Mix well and reserve.
Preparing and Assembling the Portobello, Tomato, and Welsh Rarebit
- Place the cooked mushrooms on a broiler-safe pan.
- Place the cooked tomato slices on each mushroom.
- Top the tomato with the cheese/rarebit mixture.
- Broil in the oven until just browned.
- Remove the stuffed mushrooms from the broiler.
- Toast both sides of an English Muffin or good quality bread and place on a plate.
- Use a spatula to carefully add the stuffed mushroom onto each slice of bread and serve.
Hi Chef David,
Many thanks for posting this recipe, inspired by a dish that Mary Berry prepared on her TV program. Following your recipe, I made this dish last night for dinner, and my husband and I both loved it–moreover, it’s definitely a keeper: super-easy to put together, and great for dinner, brunch, lunch, and breakfast to boot.
I’m writing to share one suggestion: as you recommended, I removed the “gills” from the portobello mushrooms, along with the stems. Then, rather than tossing the gills and stems into the compost, I put them into a small cooking pot, along with the left-over slices of tomato from the recipe; then I added few drops of low-salt soy sauce, and two cups of water to the pot–after bringing all to a boil, I let the pot on simmer for half an hour. This quick mushroom broth was delicious, I must add!
Great idea. Thank you for sharing.
Very tasty! Thanks for posting the recipe!
Thank you very much! I’m happy you liked it.
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