Polenta With Wild Mushrooms Recipes

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 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.

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 LOCATELLI FONDUE

Steps:

• Bring broth, milk, garlic, and butter to a boil in a thick bottomed pot. Reduce heat to a simmer and whisk in cornmeal, cooking while stirring with wooden spoon for about ten minutes. As it thickens reduce heat and add sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan. Remove from heat and add basil. Quickly spread on a cookie sheet to 1/3-inch thickness and refrigerate. Polenta should remain in refrigeration at least 1 hour, or as long as 3 days prior to final preparation. (Once cool, it should be covered for safe storage.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove polenta from the refrigerator and cut out rounds with cookie cutter about 1 1/2-inches. Saute polenta rounds in nonstick pan until brown on both sides. Remove from heat. Lay polenta rounds on cookie sheet and top with Wild Mushroom Saute. Bake for 5 minutes, (heat fondue in saucepot or microwave and stir in truffle oil if desired) Drizzle with Locatelli Fondue. Garnish with chives and white truffle slice.
• Heat saute pan and add butter, shallot and garlic, cook 1 minute and add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Continue cooking about 2 minutes, remove from heat, and allow to cool. White mushrooms can be used if others are not available.
• Saute shallot in butter in heavy bottomed pot for 1 minute, add white wine, and reduce by half. Add chicken broth and cream and simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes, (too high a heat, will result in a boil over mess!!!) Add roux, whisking constantly so not to lump. As sauce thickens reduce heat and simmer 5 more minutes. Remove sauce from heat and stir in the Locatelli until melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Fold in white truffle oil, if desired. Put Fondue in squeeze bottle or resealable plastic bag with corner cut off, for easy drizzling.

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.

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.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Sauté the onions, white mushrooms, garlic and the porcini in 4 fl oz of olive oil until lightly colored. Add basil, oregano and stock; bring to a boil.
• Slowly stir in polenta. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. The polenta should be thick and creamy. Add more stock if needed. Adjust the seasonings and keep warm.
• Just before serving, add cream and cheese and stir vigorously.
• Sauté the wild mushrooms in the remaining olive oil until tender, about 10 minutes. Spoon the polenta onto warm plate and garnish with the wild mushrooms and a sprig of fresh basil. Enjoy!

POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOM RAGOUT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F Spray a 3-quart casserole dish or clay cazuela with cooking spray (like PAM) and set aside. Spray a sheet pan with cooking spray and set that aside, too.
• In a large deep skillet, heat 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Cook onion, garlic and rosemary, stirring occasionally until the onion is softened.
• Add mushrooms and salt to taste, and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, for 10 minutes or until the liquid the mushrooms gives off is evaporated.
• Stir in tomato paste and the wine, and boil until most of the liquid is evaporated.
• In a small bowl stir the cornstarch into the broth, add the mixture and the Worcestershire sauce to the mushroom mixture and bring it to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and set aside.
• In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the water with 1 Tbsp olive oil to a boil and add 1 cup of the cornmeal, a little at a time, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low, add the remaining 1 cup cornmeal in a slow stream, stirring constantly, and bring mixture to a boil. Remove pan from the heat and with a wooden spoon stir in the butter, 2/3 cup of the parmesan, the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Spread 1/3 of the polenta on the sheet pan to 1/4 inch thick, and chill for 20 minutes, or until it is firm. While it is chilling, working quickly, spread half the remaining polenta in the prepared casserole dish or cazuela, top it with half the mushroom ragout, and top the ragout with the mozzarella. Spread the remaining polenta quickly over the mozzarella and top with the remaining ragout.
• Invert the polenta sheet onto a work surface and with one or more cookie cutters, cut out as many pieces as possible. Arrange the pieces decoratively on the ragout and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. (*The dish may be prepared up to this point and refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days.).
• Bake uncovered in the upper third of the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the polenta pieces are golden.

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.