Iron Chef Challenge #3: Portabello Mushrooms and Chipotle Peppers

I was really excited about the ingredients for this week's Iron Chef challenge, unfortunately I worked all weekend, and didn't have time to experiment.

I ended up doing a variation of a dish I used to make quite often, veggie fajitas, with portabello mushrooms as the main ingredient.

I also used the idea of almond ricotta as the basis for the almond chipotle créma, but I used slightly different ingredients.

I ended up with Portabella Poblano Fajitas with Almond Chipotle Créme.



Basically, I just sautéed the portabellos in olive oil with a little shoyu, then, once they were cooked through, I added garlic, sliced onion, and sliced poblanos. You could use bell peppers instead of, or in addition to, poblanos, but the poblanos give a nice a nice mild bite, and I just enjoy the flavor and brilliant emerald green of poblanos.

I skinned 1/2 cup of almonds, then soaked them overnight, then blended them with ume vinegar, a pinch of smoked sea salt, three chipotles canned in adobo sauce, a teaspoon of agave nectar and just enough water to give me a light, but creamy texture.


I served the fajita mixture in warm corn tortillas with a dollop of chipotle creme and a few slices of avocado. Some scallions or cilantro would have been nice as a garnish, but I was in a big rush, trying to take pics, eat and post before work. My computer was slow, so I (obviously) didn't make it, but I'm still glad I did this challenge.

The fajitas were really good, and I will definitely start making them again. I had originally stopped because JD doesn't like mushrooms, and I usually cook with his tastes in mind, but these are too good and easy to take for granted. I will also add the chipotle créme to my repertoire, because it's a good balance of smoky, salty, spicy and creamy. Yum.