Polenta With Wild Mushrooms Recipes

POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in large skillet and cook mushrooms over medium heat until golden brown. Season and keep warm.In a medium saucepan, bring stock or water to a boil. Stir in cornmeal. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally to prevent lumps. Cook for approximately 30 minutes. Taste the polenta, it should be thick and smooth without a coarse texture. Cook over low heat until the texture is correct. Stir in butter, cheese and salt and pepper. Serve hot as a side or main dish.

MUSHROOM POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 8 ounces sliced cremini mushrooms, season with salt and brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon each butter and fresh thyme and 1 minced shallot; cook 30 seconds. Meanwhile, simmer 3 cups mushroom broth and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Whisk in 3/4 cup quick-cooking polenta; stir until thickened, 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Top with the mushrooms, chopped parsley, more Parmesan and pepper.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• For the polenta, bring 4 1/2 cups water and the milk to a high simmer in a medium-size heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add salt. Pour the cornmeal slowly into the liquid, stirring with a wire whisk to prevent clumping. Continue stirring as the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Turn heat to low. Cook for approximately 40 to 45 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes. If the polenta becomes quite thick, thin it with 1/2 cup water, stir well and continue cooking. Add up to 1 cup more water as necessary, to keep the polenta soft enough to stir.
• Add the butter to pot, and stir well. Add the Parmesan, if using. Taste for seasoning. Set the covered saucepan in a pot of barely simmering water, and keep warm for up to an hour or so.
• Meanwhile, put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl, and cover with about 1/2 cup boiling water. Allow to steep for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, and pat dry, then chop roughly. Reserve the mushroom stock.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a sauté pan set over high heat until it has melted. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to sizzle, about 30 seconds. Do not let the garlic brown.
• Add the fresh and reconstituted mushrooms and thyme to the pan, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, turning 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. Allow the stock to reduce by half, then turn the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, whisking to combine, followed by the soy sauce, cream and olive oil. Allow mixture to cook until it thickens a little, then remove from heat. Taste for seasoning, adding black pepper, if desired.
• Put the polenta in a warmed bowl, then top with mushrooms and the sauce. Serve immediately.

POLENTA SQUARES WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND FONTINA

Steps:

• Bring 4 1/2 cups water to a boil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot; season with salt. Bring another 4 cups water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Gradually add polenta to large pot, whisking constantly until combined. Reduce heat until only one or two large bubbles break surface at a time, adjusting heat as necessary.
• Whisk 2 ladlefuls of simmering water into polenta and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until water has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Continue to add 2 ladlefuls of simmering water every 5 minutes, stirring often and waiting for it to be absorbed before adding more, until polenta is creamy and just pulls away from sides of pot, about 45 minutes. (Adjust heat as necessary.)
• Pour polenta into a slightly damp 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Let stand until no longer steaming, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate, uncovered, until cold and set, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, toss together mushrooms, shallot, thyme, and oil; season with salt.
• Turn out polenta onto a cutting board. Cut into 24 pieces, and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet brushed with oil. Dividing evenly, brush tops with oil, then sprinkle with cheese and top with mushroom mixture. Roast until polenta is crisp on bottom, cheese is melted, and mushrooms are wilted and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately.

WILD MUSHROOM POLENTA WITH PORCINI SAUCE

Steps:

• Prep the porcini:
• In a small bowl, combine porcini mushrooms and 1 cup warm water. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 30 minutes. Remove porcini mushrooms from the liquid, strain and reserve liquid. Finely chop the mushrooms and set aside.
• Roast the mushrooms:
• While the porcini are soaking, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 450°F. On two rimmed baking sheets, gently toss mushrooms with thyme and oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast mushrooms until edges are browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté shallot until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add white wine and bay leaf and increase heat; boil until most liquid evaporates, about 7 minutes. Add reserved chopped porcini mushrooms, vegetable stock, and reserved mushroom liquid. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
• In a small bowl, stir butter and flour together until it forms a paste. Whisk the butter mixture into the mushroom sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make the polenta:
• In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water and the salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the polenta, whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until thickened and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in the cheese,and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve polenta immediately topped with porcini sauce and roasted mushrooms.

POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Stir the polenta thoroughly into one cup of stock. Bring the rest of the stock to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and slowly add the polenta, stirring. Cook until mixture thickens, a couple of minutes. Stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• Heat the oil in a nonstick pan until it is very hot. Reduce the heat to medium high, and saute the mushrooms with the thyme until the mushrooms release their juices and the juices begin to evaporate. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the mushrooms over the top of the polenta, and serve.

POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND MARINARA SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the polenta, place it and 3 1/2 cups water in a heavy 2 1/2- or 3-quart saucepan with a lid, and stir to combine. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly until the fine polenta particles remain suspended and evenly distributed in the water without continuous stirring. This should take 5 to 8 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low, cover partly and cook, stirring often, until polenta is soft and holds its shape on a spoon, about 35 minutes. Whisk in salt after 20 minutes. When polenta is done, whisk in pepper, butter and Parmesan.
• While polenta is cooking, pan-cook mushrooms. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over high heat in a wide, heavy skillet or a wok. Add mushrooms and cook, tossing and stirring often, until they sear and begin to sweat, about 3 minutes.
• Reduce heat under mushrooms to medium. Add another tablespoon oil and the shallots and cook, stirring, until just tender, 3 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and rosemary or sage. Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat until mushrooms are soft, about 5 more minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, until it is no longer visible in the pan. Add parsley, taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat.
• As soon as polenta is soft, spoon into wide bowls or onto plates. Make a depression in the middle with the back of a spoon and add a spoonful of hot tomato sauce. Top with a spoonful of mushrooms, sprinkle with Parmesan if desired, and serve.

POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND VEGETABLE RAGOUT

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in skillet large enough to hold all the ingredients. Add onions and cook until they are soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
• Add the wild and domestic mushrooms with the garlic, marjoram and thyme and cook until mushrooms soften and release their juices.
• Meanwhile in another skillet, heat remaining oil and saute peppers until soft.
• Crush tomatoes in your fingers before adding to peppers, with tomato liquid, and cook over low heat until mushroom mixture is ready.
• When mushrooms are softened, add the wine and cook over medium heat to slightly reduce liquid.
• Combine contents of both pans and use to top polenta. This can be made a day ahead.
• To serve, heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Divide both polenta and sauce in half. Use two 10-by-15-inch glass baking dishes. Using half of polenta and half of sauce, spoon a third of sauce in bottom of one baking dish . Arrange half of polenta slices over the sauce. Spoon another third of sauce over polenta. Top with remaining polenta and then with remaining sauce. Repeat with second dish and remaining ingredients.

POLENTA BITES WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND FONTINA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush both sides of polenta slices very lightly with oil and arrange on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Roast polenta until lightly golden brown and warmed through, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt butter with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until tender and browned, about 12 minutes. Add shallots, vinegar, salt, black pepper, and red pepper and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley.
• Divide mushroom mixture between baking sheets with polenta. Top with cheese. Continue to roast until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
• Arrange polenta bites on a platter and serve.
• Do Ahead
• Mushroom mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill.