Creamed Cheesy Polenta and Mushrooms
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4 as a main
- 150g/5ozs. butter
- 750g/26.5ozs. mushrooms (I used a mixture of Swiss browns, enoki, shiitake and king mushrooms), sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 5 cups stock
- 1 cup Polenta
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Chopped parsley to garnish
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Step 1 - First place the butter in a saucepan and turn to high heat and allow to brown-it takes a few minutes until it starts to smell nutty. Place in a bowl. Then I use the same saucepan (because I hate washing up) and I make sure there is no butter still in the pan and then I add the stock and bring it to a boil. Whisk in the polenta in a thin, steady stream and add a ladleful of the browned butter and then turn down the heat to low and stir with a flat bottomed wooden spoon or spatula to prevent it sticking. Leave the lid on it as it will spit otherwise and cook until creamy, around 10 minutes. Then stir through the parmesan cheese.
Step 2 - Meanwhile, while the polenta is cooking, make the mushrooms. Heat some of the browned butter in a pan on high heat and saute the garlic briefly and then add in the mushrooms adding more browned butter if needed. Cook on high heat so that the mushrooms brown and crisp and season to taste. This should take around 6-9 minutes depending on how crispy you like your mushrooms by which time the polenta should be ready too.
Step 3 - Scoop the polenta onto a serving plate and then top with the crispy mushrooms and parsley (I added walnuts too but I omitted them from the recipe as I didn't feel it needed them). Spoon over a bit of the browned butter onto the polenta on the sides.