Portobella Burgers with Roasted Red Pepper Paste and Smoked Mozzarella

I found this recipe on GroupRecipes.com. This is a Rachel Ray recipe. I never had a portobella burger until I tried this one. How did I live without this delicious recipe for most of my life? I've made this recipe about 20 times since then. This portobella burger tastes A LOT like a beef burger!  I love the earthy, smokey flavor of the mushroom and the cheese! The red pepper paste is a must! When my hubby (Tony) first tried this burger, he could hardly speak because he couldn't stop eating long enough to form a sentence! All I heard, between mouthfuls of chewing, was a slight mumbling of "Mmmmmm, this is so good". He still gets all happy when he knows I'm making this for dinner! I'm posting this recipe with the minor changes I made.  

Portobella Burgers

INGREDIENTS;
2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dried oregano
4 large portobella mushroom caps - burger size
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 lb. smoked mozzarella or gouda, sliced into 4 eaqual pieces
4 large crusty rolls - split
ROASTED RED PEPPER PASTE INGREDIENTS;
14 oz. jar roasted red peppers - drained
1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil
1 handful flat leaf parsley leaves
1 large clove garlic - chopped
salt & pepper to taste
SUGGESTED TOPPINGS;
Lettuce or spinach leaves
thin sliced red onion

DIRECTIONS;
Combine first three ingredients in the bottom of a large sealable plastic bag. Add mushroom caps, seal bag and shake bag to coat caps, then let the mushrooms marinate for 15 minutes.

 

Grill mushrooms on an indoor electric grill starting with caps down, turning to caps up, 6 minutes on each side. You can also pan fry in large nonstick skillet for the same amount of time. As they cook, season caps on each side with a little salt and pepper. Melt the smoked cheese over mushroom caps in the last minute of grill time.

 

To make the pepper paste, combine the roasted peppers, EVOO, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper in food processor and pulse grind into a thick sauce.

 

To serve, place the grilled mushroom caps topped with melted cheese on the bun bottoms. Top with lettuce or spinach and onion. Spread bun tops with roasted pepper paste.