SoCal Guacamole Burgers on Portobello Mushroom Buns

Yesterday I saw the movie Boyhood.
This is going to really date this post for future readers, but worth it. Because I have to talk about how once-in-a-lifetime and one-of-a-kind movie it was.
If you’re not familiar, Boyhood is a movie filmed over 12 years (from 2002 to 2014) with the same cast.
It’s a groundbreaking story of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason - with divorced parents and an older sister named Samantha - who literally grows up on screen before our eyes.
Boyhood depicts the rough terrain of childhood like no other film has before. Snapshots of adolescence from road trips and dating to birthdays and graduations. It’s all there.
The nearly three hours seemed like no time at all and I did not want the film to end.
Whether one is old or young, with or without children, and at whatever stage, the film grabs one deeply by being so quintessentially human.
Boyhood is profound and rich without trying to be. That’s why I loved every minute of it.
The intimacy, the emotion, it never once feels forced or heavy-handed.
I saw it last night and let it wash over me. It is still filling my mind and thoughts today.
It’s so beautiful, I can’t recommend it enough.

After the movie, I went home and cooked dinner.
I was craving a burger. Yup. It happens to me as well.
I got creative and made these SoCal Guacamole Burgers on Portobello Mushroom Buns.
Now these burgers are not only umami-packed, gluten-free and low-carb, they’re wonderfully delicious.
It’s like yumminess and healthiness combined in a burger. Do you copy?
But...bunless burgers, really?
Yup, bunless burgers.


Just to be clear, I’m not talking about burger served in a bowl.
Which is basically a bowl of ground beef with some vegetable matter thrown in, right? Kinda like chili...a vapid bowl of chili, actually.
Same goes for lettuce wrap burgers. Not bad, but most definitely not a burger.
A bunless burger - in my book - is a burger where you replace the regular old starchy white bun with something else that gets the job done, just as well.
It doesn’t have about making sacrifices. The feeling of forfeit is short lived when you come up with creative ideas filling the gap.
Such as using portobello mushroom as buns.


Large portobello mushrooms are the general size and shape of hamburger buns, so using them to substitute for hamburger buns seems - to put it in Star Trek terms - “Only logical!”
They are earth’s natural hamburger bun.
Sure, they taste like...you know, mushrooms.
So If you don’t like mushroom, I would stick to the same old, same old hamburger buns.
If you’re instead a umami hound (like myself) then this is the right thing for you.
The guacamole is fantastic and goes perfectly with the burger, sprouts and portobello mushroom buns.
Seriously, these burgers are rad. Like really rad. Boyhood movie rad.



SoCal Guacamole Burgers on Portobello Mushroom “Buns”                         Print this recipe!

Ingredients
Serves 4

8 large Portobello mushrooms (2 mushrooms per patty), stems removed and wiped clean with a damp cloth or paper towel
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb / 453 gr grass-fed organic ground beef
1 ripe avocado, peeled
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon mayo (make your own paleo mayo with this recipe)
Juice of half lime
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
1 large tomato, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, divided
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup alfalfa sprouts

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a rack in the middle. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
Brush the mushroom caps (top and bottom) with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place them onto the lined baking sheet.
Bake in the oven gills side up first, for 10 minutes. Then flip them over and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
If you have it, use the convection mode on your oven, so that the circulating hot air takes out even more of the moisture from the mushrooms.
When the mushrooms are ready remove them from the trays (and the juices they released) and place them on a plate to dry off a bit.
In the meantime, place half avocado in a medium bowl and mash with a fork until smooth. Add Greek yogurt, mayo, lime juice and cumin and stir to combine.
Dice remaining half avocado and add it to avocado mixture along with diced tomatoes, jalapeno (if using) and ⅛ teaspoon of salt. Stir gently to combine. Take a taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Set aside.
In another bowl, season ground beef with remaining ⅜ teaspoon of salt and ground black pepper. Mix well using your hands.
Divide beef mixture into 4 equal parts and shape into patties.
Heat a grill (or a grill pan) and grill patties 3 minutes on each side (or until desired degree of doneness).
To assemble burgers, place about ¼ cup of alfalfa sprouts on 4 mushroom caps, top each with 1 patty, 3 tablespoon of guacamole and top with remaining 4 caps.
Enjoy!

Nutrition facts

One burger yields 460 calories, 26 grams of fat, 18 grams of carbs and 35 grams of protein.