11 November 12, 2011 Comfort Food

Creamy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic and Sage

Name: Creamy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic and Sage
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2-3
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 ½ c veggie or chicken stock ( or sub water with 1 tsp salt, or sub 2 cups of the stock with milk); 1 cup polenta ( ground corn meal); 1/2 cup cheese ( goat cheese, white cheddar, parmesan, romano); 1 T butter ( or olive oil); 1/8 tsp white pepper; salt to taste; 1/ 2 teaspoon Truffle oil ( optional); 2 cups wild mushrooms (chanterelles or morels) or sub button mushrooms, cremini, miatake, shittake or portobellos); 1-2 T oil and butter; 2 cloves garlic, rough chopped ( or onion or shallot); 1 T fresh sage ( or sub rosemary or thyme); finishing salt; Garnish- drizzle of truffle oil ( optional- but worth it! )

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Creamy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic and Sage. A simple EASY dinner that can be made in under 30 minutes. Comforting and delicious! Vegetarian and Gluten free.

Creamy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic and Sage. A simple EASY dinner that can be made in under 30 minutes. Comfort food that is vegetarian and gluten-free! | #polenta #creamypolenta #mushrooms #morels #chanterelles

This recipe for Creamy Polenta with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic and Sage is cozy and comforting, perfect for cooler months of spring or fall, when wild mushrooms are ready for the picking. This can be made with wild mushrooms like chanterelles or morels if you have access to them –or tame, store-bought mushrooms, like shiitake, miatake, portobello, cremini or even simple button mushrooms.

In late spring I seek out morels, and in fall, I opt for Chanterelles. Both grow wild here in the Pacific Northwest. Chanterelles live among the trees, in the dense and foggy forests of Douglas Firs and Western Hemlocks. Woody and earthy with a hint of fruitiness, their texture is meaty yet tender. Both morels and chanterelles are difficult to cultivate, so most of the fresh chanterelles and morels you see at farmers markets and grocery stores, truly are “wild”.

And this is what makes them extra special. When handling them, somehow you can’t help but feel the woody forest they came from.

There is really so much you can do with wild mushrooms, but I personally like to keep it simple, allowing their unique flavor to shine.

They are delicious with pasta and risotto, in quiches, omelets or lasagna, where they are not overwhelmed by too many other ingredients. They can get lost easily so I try to make them the focus of whatever I am making with them.

When paired with a creamy bed of soft polenta, to me they are the perfect comfort food. A simple easy weeknight meal that feels so elegant and luxurious.

How to cook wild mushrooms:

If using chanterelles…make sure they are a nice golden apricot color. They should be firm to touch and have no dark or wet parts on them. Their gills should look clean and in tact.

A tip: when buying them, try to pick chantrelles that look clean and that have less of a pocket at the top and this will make your job of cleaning them much easier. Then use a brush ( like a basting brush) to gently brush away any debris. Try not to get them wet.

The nice thing is they are growing in popularity, so they are becoming mush easier to find. They are not inexpensive, but worth a splurge at least once a year.

I have found that the best way to cook wild mushrooms is either to sauté them ( in a combo of butter and olive oil) or simply roast them in the oven with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and serve with simple ingredients so their flavor and texture are highlighted.

How to cook creamy polenta:

Creamy Polenta is basically an Italian dish made from ground cornmeal. It’s cooked into a porridge and seasoned with olive oil or butter, cheese and herbs. Below is a basic recipe for Creamy Polenta that you can modify based on your preferences.

This basic Creamy Polenta recipe works well in other applications too … for example serve with braised short ribs, or pan-seared prawns, grilled Salmon or halibut or even as something as simple as roasted veggies. It’s a good recipe to tuck away because it goes with so many things.

Once your polenta is cooked.. now it’s time to have fun. Experiment with different cheeses and add a little butter. If you are vegan you could try adding olive oil and nutritional yeast which will give a nice richness.

I added goat cheese (because it was what I had on hand). Any meltable cheese would work. Some of my favorites with creamy polenta are parmesan, romano, cheddar, gorgonzola and smoked gouda. You can even use sour cream or mascarpone.

Then taste for salt. Because cheeses have different saltiness, the amount of salt you will need will vary. If you used a flavorful stock you may not even need much salt. But most likely you will need a little.

And Here is a lovely ingredient that will elevate your polenta. White Pepper!

I could do a whole post on white pepper because I have grown to love it so much. White pepper has a completely different flavor than regular black pepper. It has a haunting sort of mustiness that I am very drawn to. I especially like using it in the colder months. It’s hard to describe, but give it a try and see if you like it. Perhaps it is an acquired taste. I use it often in creamy soups, in hummus and with white winter vegetables like parsnips and cauliflower.White pepper is basically fully ripened pepper berries (the same kind as black peppercorns -which are not fully ripe) that are then soaked for several weeks to remove dark outer skin. I believe it is the longer ripening period that deepens the flavor and perhaps the soaking of the berries that gives the unique musty taste. It somehow tastes aged…. in a good way.

After you have stirred in your butter, cheese and your polenta is creamy and seasoned to your liking, place it in bowls with a generous amount of sautéed mushrooms over top. If you are feeling extra luxurious, drizzle a little truffle oil just before serving. Then inhale.

Creamy Polenta with Mushrooms and Sage- a bowl of comfort food, perfect for fall!

A simple elegant weeknight meal that comes together, so easily! I hope you love this as much as I do!