vegetarian month & the ultimate vego hangover cure
+ Mushroom Sarnie

mushroom sandwich mushroom sarnie

After an unexpectedly long trip to Ireland (thankyou volcanic ash) with a few bonus days in the beautiful city of Barcelona it’s good to be home.

There’s nothing like travelling to new places and exploring different foods. And this holiday was no exception. But after all that black pudding and white pudding and wonderfully smoky bacon and pork sausages, not to mention my little jamon-fest, my body is aching for vegetables. And so I’ve decided to make May the month of vegetarianism.

While I love my meat, fish & poultry, I also love my veg. And as much as I like to think of my diet as being pretty well balanced, I do tend to default to steak & salad when I’m stuck for what to cook. By going vegetarian for a month I’m hoping to develop a few new menu planning habits – a chance to really explore the world of vegetables as a main course.

When I think about cooking vego food I tend to default to vegetarian pastas, risottos or polentas. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with carb based dishes, I’d like to go beyond that this month and really focus on making vegetables the star of the show.

I’ve started a little page dedicated to vegetarian month to chronicle the journey of what I cook and eat over the next month. But for now I have to share with you my first discovery – a mushroom sandwich that is so lovely and meaty that I think my previous go-to hangover cure, the bacon sarnie may have been dethroned as my favourite meal for the morning after the night before.

mushroom sandwich

Mushroom Sarnie

serves 1

I’ve posted before about my love of the bacon sandwich and its amazing hangover curing properties. I almost can’t believe I’m saying this but my mushroom sandwich is just as satisfying and probably a little more restorative than it’s pork based predecessor – who would have thought

The mushrooms would be amazing on their own, served with a simple salad or any accompaniments that you’d usually serve with a juicy steak.

For a vegan version I’d substitute olive oil for the butter and hummus for the mayonnaise.

1 large field or portabello mushroom (or 2 medium), stalk trimmed
generous knob butter
1 small clove garlic, finely sliced
mayonnaise
small handful salad greens or baby rocket
2 slices fresh sourdough bread

Preheat oven to 250C or 480F (230C or 440F if using fan forced).

Place mushroom, stalk side up in an oven proof dish to hold it snugly. Sprinkle with garlic, dot with butter and season.

Bake for 10 – 20 minutes or until mushrooms are juicy and soft.

Generously spread mayo on both slices of bread, place the mushroom and it’s juices on one slice, top with leaves and other slice of bread.

Have fun in the kitchen!

With love,
Jules x

ps. Keep tabs on my vego journey over at my vegetarian month page.

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34 Comments

  • I’m a mushroom addict, why have I never done this before?? I won’t be waiting for a hangover :)

  • Portabello mushrooms make great sandwiches. They are so versatile. Perhaps it is the onset of spring and all the possibilities of fresh fruit and vegetables, but we decided this weekend to have more vegetable dish dinners (we are not full time vegan’s, after all, bacon is a beautiful thing), so we will be watching and making your new creations.

  • Thank you so much for sharing this! I especially appreciate your listing the quick vegan substitutes, and cannot wait to see what else you come up with this month. Yummy (:

  • What gorgeous photos! That bacon sandwich sounds pretty good, but honestly, a well-made vegetarian sandwich filled with mushrooms and made with good bread is about as good as it gets. I love the simplicity of your blog.

  • Love love love mushrooms. A lot. And have made sandwiches like this and relished every bite! Hope vege month goes well.. I try for 2 meat free days a week (it’s sweet potato curry tonight) but a whole month.. not sure I could cope! Will check out your food diary!

  • As someone who can’t stand the smell of bacon (too much time spent in a tiny cafe cooking full breakfasts), I’m loving this alternate hangover cure idea! Except I don’t drink much either… (I promise I’m not as dull as I sound!) so thank you for the anytime-lovely sandwich idea!

  • hurrah – v excited about seeing your vegetarian month – my recommendation for any vegetarian diet is some nut roast and lots of roasted veg with it – it makes me feel like I can be veg and still have my version of mum’s roast dinner (if that’s your thing). RE your sarnie – I’ve never been much of mushroom lover but I have had some excellent ones over the last year or two that make me think maybe I could change – I loved bacon sandwiches once upon a time but never really miss them these days – too much other good veg food about

  • Wonderful idea, wonderful pic, and I’m very much looking forward to following your Veg Month. I only eat meat because I dislike so many vegetables!!! How sad is that? But this mushroom sarnie is going to show up on my plate soon–mushrooms are one of the vegs I do enjoy.

  • Looks delicious. I try to cook meat free 1-2 nights a week but like you I usually end up cooking a pasta or risotto. I do have one none pasta/risotto veg dish – Aubrgine parmigiana (blogged it yesterday if your interested).

    Good luck with your vegetarian month, don’t think I could do it without some serious planning!

  • Delicious! Come to think of it the consistency of a portobello mushroom is rather like good bacon, or even a steak. YUM! Lovely recipe, Jules. Merry month of May for veggies is a great idea. :)

  • Swiss Browns and Portobello – Yum, Yum. Like others, am looking forward to the recipes.
    One I used to cook was a mushroom strudel with chopped onion, sour cream & dill wrapped in filo pastry. Was always a hit with everyone.

  • good luck! thats very interesting that you are going veg for a month! lol

    I wish I could do that. But I’ve been raised in a way where every meal must have meat. If it doesn’t…its not REALLY a meal..its a snack ;)

    hopefully one day I can do this!

  • im a notoriously horribly bad cook, everything i cook burns and tastes awful. so my friends and family were surprised when i decided to host a dinner party. i made your mushroom sandwiches (added bacon bits) and also a pasta i found on your website and the party was a success! you’re awesome. i LOATHE cooking but your recipes are so fast and simple that even someone who cannot seem to not burn grilled cheese 100% of the time, was able to make a delicious dinner. thanks for creating this website for people like me!

  • Mushroom sandwich looks awesome! I do feel inclined to point out something editorial – “it” is the one exception to using an apostrophe for possession – it’s means always and only “it is” and “its” means “the thing belonging to/of it”, so “it’s juices” and “it’s predecessor” should both be “its”. No disrespect meant, it is a frequent mistake, but I like to spread the knowledge.

  • It’s nearly sinful how good this tastes! I’ve made it twice this week (sans hangover) and am completely in love with how good it tastes. I added a dash of hot sauce this time as the mushroom rested and it was a fun twist. Thanks for sharing this delicious sandwich!

  • I love this sandwich. It’s a regular for me (not always for hangover reasons, of course!)

    for a twist, I sometimes add a slice of a large tomato and some grated cheese (good old Scottish Cheddar) before baking and serve on a toasted ciabatta bun.

  • THANK YOU! As a super unhealthy (and poor!) student, I’ve decided to embark on my own vegetarian adventure! One week in and my Sunday morning has been craving a bacon sarnie! But you’ve helped me put those intimidating looking field mushrooms I’ve been avoiding to good use! I real revelation (especially for someone that normally avoids mushrooms at all costs!).
    Your blog is inspirational, but I was wondering if you have any advice on a typical “weekly shop” for the budget vegetarian? (I’m i Scotland and in the city so i’m pretty limited to the supermarket)
    Any advice would be great!!

  • Similar to one of my standbys, add some fresh thyme when baking. I also stuff with fetta, a bit of chilli and thyme. On good bread these are heavenly.

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