Stuffed Portabella Mushroom, Steak, Grilled Asparagus

Wednesday night, it was time to taste some more of Jake's flat iron steaks from Dickson's Farmstand Meats stand in Chelsea Market. I had purchased two small flat iron steaks: grain finished from Wrighteous Organics and grass-fed from Herondale Farm. Jake has written a great piece on his website about grass-fed and grain-fed, check it out here. I think I was biased towards grass-fed, but of the two meats this time around, I think I would have to give the nod to the grain-fed. To me, it just seemed to have a beefier quality to it.

Although the meat was very tasty (this is the second success I have had with meats from Dickson's) and the asparagus was cooked my favorite way (simply grilled on a grill pan with salt, pepper, olive oil), I was particularly happy with the stuffed portabella mushroom.

Ingredients
- large portabella mushroom
- 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried taragon
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
- olive oil
- salt & pepper

Recipe
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Pull out the stem of the portabella mushroom, trim, and finely chop. In a skillet with olive oil, saute the seasoned chopped mushroom for about five minutes until cooked through, and set aside. Drizzle olive oil over both sides of the portabella mushroom and season with salt and pepper. In a roasting pan, put the mushroom in the oven for about 7 to 10 minutes aside until the mushroom looks cooked through and slightly reduced in size.

While the mushroom is cooking, in a bowl add breadcrumbs, herbs, spices, cheese, salt, pepper, the cooked mushroom cap, and mix together. When the mushroom is cooked, remove from the oven and add the breadcrumb mixture to the "bowl" of the mushroom cap until the mixture is flat with the top. Do not heap the mixture. Drizzle with olive oil and return to the oven. When the topping is browned on top, remove from the oven and serve.

It's a great side dish, but works very well as an entree for a vegetarian.

Wine Pairing
I pulled out one of my favorite inexpensive Chambers Street Wines specials: Peybonhomme-les-Tours 2006 Premières Cote de Blaye Cru Bourgeois. It was just a fine match with the steak and the stuffed mushroom. A certified organic red from Bordeaux - blackcurrent fruit, spice, soft, lighter for a Bordeaux.