Description
This creamy mushroom polenta is so warm and comforting! A simple vegetarian dinner that can be made in under 30 minutes. Cozy and delicious, perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
Units
Creamy Polenta
- 1 cup polenta (fine ground cornmeal or medium ground cornmeal)
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups cold water (or milk)
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
- fresh cracked black pepper
- Optional: 1/4 – 1/2 cup pecorino cheese, parmesan cheese, creamy goat cheese, or any other melty cheese like cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella or provolone. Add more to taste.
- Optional garnish: fresh herbs- basil, Italian parsley, thyme.
Sagey Mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 sage leaves
- 3 cups mushrooms, cleaned -chanterelles, morel mushrooms, button mushrooms, cremini, miatake, shitake or portobellos
- 1–2 tablespoons oil or butter (a mix is nice)
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2–4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 2–3 tablespoons wine- totally optional (cooking sherry is nice- sherry wine, not sherry vinegar!)
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped (or sub 1 teaspoon dried sage, rosemary or thyme)
- Garnish- a drizzle of truffle oil ( optional- but worth it! )
Instructions
- Make the Creamy Polenta: Place cornmeal in a medium heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven and whisk with the cold water and salt to create a slurry.
- Cover, and heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until it just reaches a simmer (no need to boil); whisk well, cover again, and lower heat to low heat for 15-20 minutes, cooking until the grains “open up” and have a creamy consistency. (Fine-ground cornmeal will cook faster than medium-ground cornmeal.)
- Add more water to create the consistency you want. I like it creamy but not runny- so any toppings easily sit on top and don’t sink down.
- Whisk in the olive oil or butter, and add the optional cheese. Remember to wait to add any fat, until after the grains have fully cooked.
- Taste and adjust salt and add pepper. Turn off the heat and cover until ready to serve.
- Make the crispy sage: Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place sage leaves in the oil, turning after 15-20 seconds, and remove right before they turn golden. Set on a paper towel
- Sagey Mushrooms: Lower heat to medium. To the same skillet add shallots, garlic and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and saute 7-8 minutes until mushrooms release their liquid, lowering heat if necessary. Let the liquid cook off and allow the mushrooms to brown a little. At this point, you could splash with a little wine or sherry, letting this cook-off too- optional. Add the chopped sage right at the end and cook for one minute. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Divide the creamy polenta among bowls, and spoon the mushrooms over top. Top with the crispy sage leaves and a drizzle of Truffle oil . Enjoy!
Notes
I also love adding wilted baby spinach to this for extra nutrients. Feel free to add the spinach to the mushrroms towards the end, letting it gently wilt. So tasty!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (1 cup polenta, ½ cup mushrooms)
- Calories: 381
- Sugar: 2.4 g
- Sodium: 682.2 mg
- Fat: 23.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 5.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 37.4 g
- Fiber: 3.6 g
- Protein: 7.1 g
- Cholesterol: 14 mg
