roasted field mushroom with rocket, persian feta, sun-dried tomatoes and roasted beetroot chips

Often on a Friday night my kids like pizza because it’s ‘Friday Fun Night’.  I’m often looking for a quick , healthy  and grain-free  ‘treat-like’ alternative for the adults.  Tonight I came up with these roast mushrooms (perhaps very loosely they could be mushroom pizzas).  They were absolutely divine!  The best bit was the slightly sweet crunch of the beetroot chips.  In my mind the beetroot was going to be roasted but still a bit soft, but I got distracted watching YouTube clips with the kids and forgot about the beetroot for a few minutes too long and so my roasted beetroot turned crispy, but it was such a blessing in disguise as it was the highlight of the dish.

We had it as a light meal, but it would be the perfect sexy side to an eye fillet.

My husband has decided that each of my dishes in these posts need a ‘husband rating’ and this one gets a 10/10!!The recipe:

• large field mushrooms
• butter
• fresh beetroot – diced into 3-4mm squares
• persian feta
• rocket
• sun-dried tomatoes
• caramelised balsamic vinegar
• oil (I used macadamia)
• lemon wedges

Preheat your oven to 180C.

You can cook the beetroot chips and the mushrooms in the same oven.

To make the beetroot chips dice a fresh beetroot (I used the large slice on my mandolin to get the strips then cut them into rough squares).  Toss in a bowl with a bit of oil, salt and pepper.  Spread out on an oven tray lined with baking paper.  Roast in the oven for about 30-40 mins, until they look a bit dehydrated and crispy but not burnt.

For the mushrooms: smear a baking dish with oil.  Brush your mushrooms with oil. Place them top-down into the dish and  scatter the inside of the mushroom with 4-6 small pieces of diced butter, season with salt and cracked pepper.

Put in the oven and roast until soft (about 30-40 mins) at 180C.  About half way through the cooking, drizzle the mushrooms with small amount of caramelised balsamic vinegar.

To assemble, place the mushrooms on  the plate, scatter with rocket, crumbled persian feta, a few sun-dried tomatoes and top with the beetroot chips.  Drizzle with a bit more of the vinegar and serve with a wedge of lemon.

YUM!