The Vegetarian BLT, or the Simple-Yet-Delicious Portobello Sandwich

I am a vegetarian. My husband is not. The way we work it out with dinner is usually that any meat involved is an optional addition to whatever meal we're making - for example, stir-fry vegetables or vegetarian pad thai, with a few shrimp cooked separately for my husband to add.

Last night, we did something a little different and cooked two sort-of separate meals. My husband had been craving a BLT (and so was I, honestly). Obviously, that would leave only an "LT" for me.  So we did some searching online for vegetarian BLT recipes.  Most of them substituted vegetarian faux-bacon (one of the main ingredients of which is wheat gluten, so that's not an option). Another featured a fried-until-crunchy slice of cheese - sort of appetizing, but not that substantial. Almost simultaneously, my husband and I remembered a delicious "burger" made with a portobello mushroom cap I'd had at Whiskey Creek restaurant in Bishop, California. I say "burger" because the restaurant didn't have gluten-free hamburger buns or bread to put it on, so I just ate the innards with a fork and knife. And we thought, why not cook up something like that separately for me?

I'm very pleased to say that the result was amazing! This is such a simple, quick recipe and yet soooo good - dare I say, better than a BLT, which has always been one of my favorite sandwiches.  In fact, I was so eager to eat it that I completely forgot about photographing it for the blog.

The Recipe
Time: 15 mins for prep and cooking.
Yield: Makes 1 sandwich.
Use organic ingredients whenever possible!

• 1 small to medium portobello mushroom cap
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 slice yellow onion, halved to form shoestrings
• 1 slice of Muenster or your favorite cheese (Swiss would go well, I'd imagine.)
• sliced tomato
• 1 leaf of your favorite lettuce (I used red leaf.)
• mayonnaise
• 2 slices of your favorite gluten-free bread (I used Rudi's multigrain.)

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Sauté onions until they begin to carmelize.
2. Remove stem from portobello cap.  Move onions to the side of the pan and add second tbsp olive oil.  Pan-fry portobello cap for about 6-7 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toast the bread to your liking and dress it with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato.
4. When the portobello looks just about done, put the onions on top, then melt the cheese over it while it's still in the pan.
5. Transfer the portobello to the sandwich and serve.