Portobello Mushrooms with sweet potato and taleggio

I completely love these. They are a good meat replacement, so make a great choice for the vegetarian clients. They also make an excellent side dish. I make a more standard version with goat’s cheese and roasted peppers, but our Icelandic chef, Salka, came up with this really original and truly delicious recipe. They have quickly become one of the favourites in the shop.

Makes 8.

Ingredients

1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 4x4 cm (1 ½ inch) cubes

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons granulated onion

salt and black pepper

4 garlic cloves, peeled

4 tomatoes, cored, and sliced in half

½ teaspoon dried thyme

40 g (1 ½ oz) butter

8 portobello mushrooms, cleaned, with stalks removed

4 sprigs parsley, leaves only, chopped

160 g (5 ½ oz) Taleggio cheese, cut into 8 strips

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). In a large bowl, toss together the sweet potatoes, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the granulated onion, salt and pepper, and add one of the garlic cloves. Transfer to a baking tray, and spread evenly. Bake 25 minutes, or until nicely browned. Set aside.

Place the 8 tomato halves, face-up, on a baking tray, and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with the thyme, salt and pepper, and pop into the oven for 30 minutes.

Mash the sweet potatoes with the butter and a few pinches of parsley. Season to taste. Separate the mash into 8 portions, and divide it over the 8 mushrooms. Top each with a roasted half-tomato, face up, then a slice of Taleggio cheese. Chop the remaining garlic clove with the rest of the parsley, and sauté in the remaining olive oil until the garlic is soft. Spoon this mixture over the cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is a nice golden brown.