OCC Week Two: Portabella Mushroom Pizzas

Week Two of the On-line Cooking Club: Portabella Mushroom Pizza

We often have a make-your-own pizza bar. Husband usually handles that on a Friday (my night off) using our own dough (super simple). I've said before, if you give people a chance to build their own meal, it's a hit. Any bar-style set up is a win our house (potato bar, taco bar, pizza bar, etc.).

In an effort to cut back on the refined white flour (and also because in truth I am not the biggest fan of wheat crust) I opted to try portabella mushrooms pizzas.

The pizzas pictured above are super simple:

: Portabella mushroom caps (roasted with tomatoes below)
: Roasted tomatoes (I took some tomatoes that were slightly past their prime--better at yesterday's party, if you know what I mean--tossed with chopped garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 425 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.)

Remove from oven, drain some of the liquid from the mushrooms and add your toppings.

: Chevre, crumbled
: Basil, thinly sliced

Return to oven to melt the cheese (about 5 minutes).

Toppings are endless. For lunch today I am adding olives, caramelized onions and artichoke hearts.

Review: Husband thought it would be weird, and then loved it. Kids were not informed that they were eating mushroom (kids universally think they don't like mushrooms). The 'crust' is meatier than a dough so you need substantial toppings to make this fly. The best hit with the kids is more of a Hawaiian flare (mozzarella, Canadian bacon and pineapple).

Don't be shy of the mushroom, try it.