I am such a cheese lover and there are several cheeses I will happily travel for. Take the Vacherin Mont D’or for instance (especially as a little cheese fondue during long Winter evenings), the Petit Doruvael (a Dutch, aromatic but mild farmhouse cheese, perfect with some wine) and my number one: Remeker cheese.
In my opinion, it’s not that much of a surprise that this cheese was once awarded ‘Best Dutch cheese’, because really: when you’ve tasted the creamy, spicy and herby taste of this raw milk cheese, you simply don’t want anything else.
Very spcial about Remeker is that this cheese is made with Jersey milk, which makes it more suitable for some people with a dairy insensitivity. The cheese rind itself is also eatable, because it’s made – very clever – with homemade ghee of those same Jersey cows. I love it simply on top of some sourdough bread, but it’s equally good on this burger.
I wanted to make a filling, substantial veggie burger and my eye quickly fell on the portobello. This big mushroom has a rich, almost meaty taste and gets all juicy when you marinate and grill it. By combining it with Remeker cheese (or another sharp, aged substitute, like good Parmesan or aged Cheddar), this vegetarian cheeseburger gets extra taste and is further completed by the spicy mayonnaise.
I usually make this spicy sauce by stirring some chipotle pepper (I always take home several cans when I visit the US) through good-quality mayo, but I love it even better when I use a smokey chipotle salsa sauce.
My very carnivore husband claimed this was a more than wonderful burger. And that should tell you pretty much everything.
INGREDIENTS
makes 4 burgers
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
4 big portobello’s, stem removed
3 tbsp mayonnaise
½-1 tsp spicy salsa or chipotle in adobe
4 small ciabatta buns, sliced in half
8 slices of Remeker, Parmesan or old Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS
Mix the oil, vinegar and garlic with some salt and pepper in a bowl and marinate the portobello’s in this mixture. You can do this 5 minutes or even a day ahead.
Mix the mayonnaise and salsa/chipotle to taste. Set aside.
Heat a griddle pan on high heat and grill the marinated mushrooms about 3 minutes per side, or until they’re juicy and somewhat soft. In the last minute, put the cheese slices on top of the mushrooms and cover with a lid, to melt the cheese a little.
Spread the spicy mayonnaise on the buns and place the portobello with cheese on top. Serve straight away, maybe with some pickled cucumber on the side.
