Portobello Mushroom Steaks with Cheesy Rosemary Polenta

Sometimes less is more. If I can cook, photograph and eat this dish in under an hour, I know you can too! And it is a beautiful creamy dreamy dish. Pair it with some zesty roasted carrots or sweet potatoes, kale salad and a glass of wine for a sweet and complete #datenight or christmas dinner.

I’ve always been kind of freaked out at the idea of disguising a mushroom as a steak. No matter how you cut it :), a mushroom is not a steak. So how did it become a steak? It’s not the taste, but the thick and juicy texture. Once you serve it with a balsamic glaze, or mushroom gravy with the juice drippings, or some lemon, I actually like it more! Not only does it taste good going down, but it doesn’t take my body 3 days to digest it.

If you don’t eat meat, one of the most frequent questions I’m sure people ask you is, where do you get your protein? For some reason people don’t think protein when they think of plants, but plants are full of protein, you just need to eat more of them. And if you haven’t heard me say it, that’s why I do this site. Eat MORE plants. Quantity and quality. Personally, I love mushrooms as a staple since you don’t need to use much portion control. I can eat 2 mushrooms for about 80 calories, add that to a kale (protein rich) salad and I’m set. Portobello mushrooms are super low calorie, have 4 grams of protein per cup, fiber, have lots of vitamin B’s, D, and fight cancer in their spare time. Mushrooms are even being considered for cancer therapy.

Something I’m trying to do differently in life is to eat my big meal in the middle of the day and smaller meals at night. That way, while I’m sleeping, my body is using that time efficiently. I don’t wake up with that groggy heavy food feeling, and have the added benefit of a flat stomach in the morning. A dish like this is perfect for dinner.

What To Do With Leftover Polenta

Since I have a household of two, I had a lot of leftover polenta after making this. Instead of adjusting the portion you make (which comfortably serves about 4), use the leftovers to cut your cooking time down!

1. Once it is cool enough to wrap in plastic, press into a roll for round slices or press into a plan and slice into squares.
2. Slice it up, fry it, and pour maple syrup over it for a polenta pancake (this one has the delicious rosemary twist!)
3. Slice it up, fry it, and make polenta benedict
4. Reshape it into polenta balls for an appetizer
5. Leave a comment saying you like this idea and I’ll create a list of recipes you can make with polenta.

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