Grilled Portobellos With Pesto, Tomatoes and Feta

Many thanks to my dear friend Joanna who served these beautiful and oh-so-flavorful mushroom "steaks" for dinner the other night. I thought I had died and gone to Vegetarian Heaven! We had them as the main course, but they can also be served as an appetizer or on a sandwich/burger. Joanna made her own pesto with fresh basil, toasted pine nuts and extra virgin olive oil. Prepared pesto will work fine, but if you can, I suggest making your own for the best flavor. These are super easy and you can make them ahead of time and refrigerate till ready to grill. Serving size indicates number of mushrooms. As an appetizer, one mushroom per serving will do, but for a main course I would recommend 4 servings of 2 mushrooms each. The recipe originated in Vegetarian Times and I'm posting here for safekeeping.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 8 mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup pesto sauce
• 1⁄2 cup olive oil
• 8  large portabella mushrooms, stemmed
• 1  lb feta cheese, crumbled
• 2  cups fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

Directions

1. Stir together pesto and olive oil, set aside.
2. If desired, scrape off black gills under mushroom caps, and discard (the original recipe calls for this step but it is optional).
3. Spoon 2 tablespoons pesto mixture into each mushroom cap and spread evenly.
4. Gently mix feta cheese with diced tomatoes, and divide evenly to top each mushroom.
5. If making ahead, wrap the topped mushroom in plastic wrap, and chill till ready to grill.
6. Grill mushrooms over medium heat for 10 to 20 minutes, or until soft when pierced with knife. Serve hot and enjoy.