Chicken Fried Portobello Mushrooms

I'm a big fan of mushrooms in general but I only like them cooked. I haven't had steak in so many years I don't even remember the taste but I'm not a big fan of the smell. When I ran across this recipe for Chicken Fried Mushrooms I was on it and put it on the menu immediately (we make weekly menus, it's very helpful). Please excuse the green plate, I liked the look of that mushroom better and my son was getting ready to eat it. I did find that when I poured the gravy over my fried mushroom I didn't like the texture as much because it lost it's crunch.

On the other hand, my sons was just cut up so he could dip it in the gravy and I quickly saw that this was the way to go because you maintain the crunch which still getting all the flavors. Yum! So, this would make an excellent appetizer with baby bellas. It didn't take to long to put it together and since it was still like the Texas state fair up in here with my big pot of oil then I was going to fry them. :)

Chicken-Fried Portobello Mushroom

-1 cup flour
-1 teaspoon each: salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and sweet paprika

-2 eggs (whisked)
-1/8 cup cream
-3 portobello mushroom (stemmed, trimmed)

-1 cup canola oil
-Shallot and Mushroom Gravy (recipe follows)

-chopped parsley

Combine the flour with the spices in a mixing bowl large enough to accommodate one mushroom at a time. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the eggs and cream.

Now trim the mushrooms by removing the stems and the part of the cap that hangs over the gill side; doing this will create a flat surface, which will make it much easier to pan-fry your mushrooms. Reserve the trimmings because you will use them in the gravy. 

Heat the oil to medium high in a 12-inch frying pan. Depending on the size of the mushrooms, this pan should accommodate all three at once. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Now, batter the mushrooms using a three-step process: toss them in the flour mixture, coat them with the egg mixture, then dredge them in the flour mixture. This should help plenty of spiced flour to adhere to the mushroom. Fry mushrooms for about two minutes per side.

Place mushrooms on a baking sheet and finish cooking them through in the oven. This should take about 15 minutes, which is the perfect amount of time to make your gravy.

To serve, smother mushroom with gravy and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with your favorite side vegetable. We had garden-grown green beans with garlic and tomatoes.

Shallot and Mushroom Gravy:

-1 tablespoon of butter

-trimmings from the mushrooms
-1/2 cup shallot (minced)
-1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
-3/4 cup strong broth (preferably mushroom)
-1/2 cup milk

-1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

-sea salt 

Melt butter in a 10-inch frying pan over medium heat. Add the trimmings and shallots. Once the shallot is translucent, add the flour and cook until nutty and fragrant. Add the broth and milk as you whisk. Slowly bring mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Mixture should be thick like pancake batter after a few minutes. Season with black pepper and sea salt.

Recipe from The Chubby Vegetarian This site has some pretty great recipes on it :)