Portobello Fajitas for House Favorites: Vegan

Grilling season is upon us! Well, it's upon me, anyway.  If it's cold where you are, I hope you'll bookmark this recipe for later.  I make this in the winter, too. Look to the end of the recipe for indoor instructions.

This was one of the first recipes I made when I started grilling vegetarian food. I originally made this in a skillet and it was tasty that way, but adding a marinade and cooking the vegetables over hot coals ramps up the flavor tremendously.  (If you want to read more about vegetarian grilling, check out The Great Grilling Post. )

One of the best things about this recipe, and why I think you need to bookmark it, is that it is a great way for omnivores and vegetarians to share food at a cookout. For those who just have to have their meat, they can cook some traditional fajitas and you can share tortillas, guacamole, salsa, cheese  or non-dairy cheese, sour cream, etc. And they will want to try some of yours, too, so make lots.  Another reason to make lots is that the leftover grilled vegetables make a terrific filling for enchiladas, and the enchiladas will freeze for a busy weeknight.

I'm linking this up to the inaugural month of House Favorites: Vegan. I hope you'll enter one of your own recipes this month or soon after!  You can read more about it House Favorites here.

Portobello Fajitas

4 or 5 large portobellos

1 large red bell pepper

1 medium red onion

Marinade:

3/4 cup mild beer (I used St. Arnold's Spring Bock)

1/2 cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon salt

5 or 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

To serve:

12 flour tortillas, warmed

guacamole, salsa, cheese,  and sour cream as desired

About an hour before starting a fire, marinate the vegetables: Discard stems from portobellos. Slice them into 1/2-3/4 inch-thick slices. Remove stem and seeds from the pepper and slice into strips slightly  less than 1/2 inch thick.  Peel onion, slice in half from top to bottom, then slice into half circles. Separate the onion  into half-rings.

Whisk together the beer, olive oil, cumin, salt and garlic slices. Pour over the vegetables. This works best in a ziptop plastic bag as it will let you squeeze out the air and keep the vegetables completely in the marinade, but you can use a casserole dish, too. Turn over the bag or toss the vegetables at least once while they're marinating.

Start coals.  When the coals are ready, drain the vegetables. Grill on a grill pan until they're tender. It's okay if they blacken slightly. If they don't seem to be cooking quickly enough, drop the lid on your grill.

Serve with tortillas and other fixin's and let everyone put together their own.  Serves 4.

To make these indoors:  Preheat oven to 425 F. Slice vegetables as above. Instead of marinade, toss them with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil (I don't measure), 1/4 teaspoon each cumin and salt, and 3 cloves of thinly sliced garlic. Spread vegetables in a single layer on a baking pan and broil until tender, tossing once or twice, about 30 minutes.