Giant Portobello Mushroom Pizza

We had a dark, stormy and unusually cool day yesterday so I decided it was time to experiment in the kitchen. With the temperatures much lower than “scorching” I could finally turn on the oven. Believe it or not I used one portobello mushroom to make this entire pizza!

My hands are small but they are not that small! This mushroom is just that huge! When I saw them at the store I thought to myself, wow, you could totally use these a pizza base and avoid all those carbs from a pizza crust. Why not right? And I LOVE mushrooms! This sucker cost me only $2.50 and saved me lots of baking time.

This was a big mistake. I should have just brushed the mushroom with some oil, season and roast it but I wanted to try sauteing it. First, it is way too thick to cook on the stovetope and second, when I pushed it down the mushroom split and hot oil splattered and seared my hand. Not good! I weighed it down with my old brown rice I use for pie weights, turned it over, sprinkled some balsamic vinegar on the top and then roasted it in a 350F oven for 15 minutes.

Then I added my toppings: Prego for the sauce (yup, in a lazy mood), sundried tomatoes and old cheddar cheese. I put the mushroom under the broiler.

Very delicious! Yes, a lot of moisture came out of the mushroom but all that meant is there was some mushroom jus to go with the pizza, I was totally OK with that. I should have seasoned it with salt and pepper. With a burned hand, I forgot some of the basics. Next time I will also add some goat cheese and maybe a little basil.

Meaty, yummy and gooey, this made the perfect lunch on a dark afternoon in Nova Scotia.