Portabellos with Goat Cheese and Olive-Caper-Pepper Relish

After the success of the Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Portabellos I went searching for more ways to cook portabello mushrooms. I love stuffing/topping them with delicious ingredients and they make an excellent, hearty, vegetarian dinner. Brianna recently posted this recipe for Grilled Portabello Mushrooms with Goat Cheese & Caper-Olive-Red Pepper Relish, so I put it on the menu.

Brianna grilled hers but since it was threatening to storm I opted to do them in the oven. I've modified the directions below but if you want to do them on the grill click through to her blog. I knew SP would be skeptical because he isn't a big olive fan (the man doesn't really like Mediterranean/Greek flavors), but even he thought these were delicious. The topping is very tangy from the olives and capers, which I love. They took next to no time to prepare, mainly because I chopped everything for the relish the night before, as well as roasted the pepper. It was great to just scrape the mushrooms and bake them. Easy peasy!

Portabello Mushrooms with Goat Cheese & Caper-Olive-Red Pepper Relish
Slightly modified from Oishii

4 large portobello mushrooms
1 teaspoon + 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
Worcestershire sauce
Soy sauce
Salt & pepper
1/2 small red bell pepper or 1 roasted red pepper
1/4 cup roughly chopped kalamata olives
1/4 cup roughly chopped Spanish olives with pimentos
1 1/2 teaspoons minced capers
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 oz. soft, fresh goat cheese, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Twist the stems off the portobello mushrooms and scrape the gills out using a butter knife or spoon, discarding stems and gills. Mix the 1 teaspoon oil, a splash of soy sauce, and a splash of Worcestershire in a small bowl. Brush the caps and inside with the mixture. Place the mushrooms, gill side facing down, on the baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Flip so the mushrooms are gill side up and roast for another 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, toss together the olives, capers, parsley, garlic, oregano, and olive oil to combine. Remove the seeds and ribs from the bell pepper half. Char over a gas flame until the skin blisters, or broil in a toaster oven. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to steam for 10 minutes, then remove the blistered skin. Chop roughly. Add to olive-caper mixture.

Remove mushrooms from the oven. Carefully spoon some goat cheese into each mushroom cap and spread into a thin layer. Spoon the olive-caper-pepper relish on top of the goat cheese. Return to the oven and cook until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is warmed, about 5 minutes.