This dish is made with ingredients that generally don’t go along or has a combination that you would have never known would go together. The cheese-like corn with sauteed mushrooms is probably one of the best-unexpected combinations ever to happen. Polenta mushroom goes well during cold days for lunch or dinner too.
It is not too hard to prepare this dish as it requires regular ingredients and does not require much preparation steps.
Ingredients:
Polenta
- 2 cups of whole milk
- 1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
- 1 ¾ cups of polenta
- 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan, or to taste
Mushrooms
- ½ ounce of dried porcini mushrooms
- 5 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut into pats and divided
- 1 clove of garlic that is peeled and minced
- 8 ounces of fresh mushrooms either wild or cultivated and sliced thin
- 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
- For the polenta, bring 4 ½ cups of water and the milk to a simmer in a heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add some salt.
- Then, pour the polenta slowly into the liquid, stirring with a whisk preventing it from clumping. Continue stirring as the mixture starts to thicken, for about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Turn heat to low. Cook for roughly 40 to 45 minutes, stirring it every 5 to 10 minutes. If the polenta becomes too thick, add ½ cup water and stir well. Add up to 1 cup more water if necessary, to keep the polenta soft enough to mix.
- Add the butter to the pot, and stir it well. Add the Parmesan cheese. Set the covered saucepan over a pot of boiling water, and keep it warm for an hour or so.
- Meanwhile, put the dried mushrooms in a bowl, and cover it with about 1/2 cup of boiling water. Let it soak for about 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, and pat it dry, then chop them roughly. Reserve the mushroom stock for later.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a frying pan set over high heat until it has melted. Add garlic and cook until it starts to sizzle, for about 30 seconds. Do not let the garlic turn brown.
- Add the fresh and re-formed mushrooms and thyme to the pan, and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, until browned. Add about 1/4 cup of the mushroom stock to deglaze the surface, using a wooden spoon to scrape at the browned bits. Let the stock reduce by half, then turn the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and stir well. Then, add the soy sauce, cream and olive oil. Allow the mixture to cook until it thickens a little, then remove from heat. Taste for seasoning, add black pepper if desired.
- Put the polenta in a warmed bowl, then top with mushrooms and the sauce. Serve immediately.
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