Grilled portabellas, marinated in a creamy chipotle sauce, served on quinoa buns

When cooking with friends, I often enjoy sharing a bottle of wine or craft brew during the preparation process. Unfortunately it sometimes renders me forgetful and I find myself the next day wishing I had remembered to take photos to share with blog readers. Today is one of those days. I am certain though, that I will be making this delicious meal several times this summer. Let grilling season begin!

Quinoa Buns (these can be made in advance)

Ingredients

2 C cooked quinoa

1 C cooked oatmeal

2 tsp yeast

¾ C warm water

1/3 C maple syrup

2 Tbl vegetable oil

3 Tbl soy milk powder

2 to 3 C unbleached all purpose flour

¼ C vital wheat gluten (optional)

1 C whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

Combine yeast and water with a little bit of the maple syrup. Let it stand for about 10 minutes, until bubbly. Add rest of maple syrup, soy milk powder, oil and salt and stir until combined. Mix in about a cup of the white flour. Add the vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, oats and quinoa. Add more white flour as necessary and begin kneading. Knead for about 8 minutes, until elastic. Oil a large bowl, form dough into a ball and place in bowl, turning to coat all surfaces with oil. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours. Once the dough has doubled, press down to remove air bubbles and divide into about 15 balls.

Forming the buns (use extra flour as necessary)

Roll each ball out long and thin (like a rope), about a foot long. Tie a simple loose knot and tuck ends through the reverse side.* Place the rolls on an oiled cookie sheet and again let them rise in a warm place until doubled. (To try to keep them from drying out, I place two plastic bags over the cookie sheets. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake the buns for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheet.

Adapted from http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/healthyeating/r/quinoabread.htm

*This site has a step by step of something similar, though they roll the dough out and cut into strips rather than rolling it out into ropes like I did: http://www.eclecticepicurean.com/Isabella%20Cooks/July21-slumber%20party/BBQ%20Buns/BBQ%20Buns.htm (scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the final steps)

Chipotle Portabellas

1 small or medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered

2 cloves garlic crushed

1/3 C vegetable or olive oil

2 Tbl balsamic vinegar

4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

4 portabella mushrooms, rinsed and stems removed.

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor (except portabellas) until smooth. Coat both sides of each portabella in the marinade and let sit for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat the grill (medium to high). Grill the portabellas until tender, about 15 minutes, turning every five minutes.

Place on buns. I recommend topping with grilled onion, ketchup, mustard, lettuce tomato and avocado. Enjoy!