keep your diet real

I used to live in Boston. One of my favorite areas of the city is called the “North End”…

For those of you who are not familiar with the North End, it is like Little Italy in NYC. Notice that I used the word “like”. Personally, I would never utter the words “Little Italy” while in the North End. I’ve heard they make cement shoes for people like that. Italians who live in the North End of Boston like to distinguish themselves from other generic “little Italys” of the world.  Honestly, I can’t blame them. The North End is such a unique and charming place.

I would like to share a few of her many charms…

• Garlic perfuming the narrow alleyways
• Accordions playing outside dimly lit restaurants
• Fire escapes drooping from the sides of brick buildings
• Italian phrases bouncing back and forth between neighbors sharing an adjacent clothesline
• Feeling the urge to not just tolerate, but rather, welcome sassy feedback from servers

Every time I go back to Boston to visit, I try to stop in the North End. I don’t think that I have ever had a bad meal there. I have never ordered a portabella mushroom sandwich in the North End but just thinking about it is making me salivate. The next time I go, I think I’ll order one.

Today I was thinking about Boston and mushrooms, so I decided to combine the two into this sandwich. I chose not to grill the bread but it would be equally tasty with grilled Italian bread or made into a panini.

Ingredients

• 4 portabella mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 4 slices of Swiss cheese
• 1 roma/plum tomato (thinly sliced)
• ½ avocado (thinly sliced)
• Italian bread (or bread of choice)

Directions

1. Rub both sides of the portabella mushrooms with olive oil
2. Sprinkle both sides of the mushroom with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
3. Cook the mushroom in a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of additional oil (about 3 minutes each side)
4. Place the cooked mushroom on a paper towel to remove some excess water and oil
5. Place the mushroom and the remaining ingredients onto the Italian bread. Makes 4 sandwiches. The one pictured has two mushroom caps and could easily be split between two people. Mangia!

Where’s the best Italian meal you have ever eaten?