Sometimes it has to go quick, however this does not mean you need to revert to steak and salad dinner, there are plenty of recipes available with lots of flavour.
Polenta is not everyone's game either, but this recipe might change your opinion of polenta being bland and boring.
Mushroom Polenta with Cherry Tomatoes
click on below 'read more' link to find out the recipe
this recipe is for 2x people, but very generous servings:
Ingredients:
200 ml Milk
500 ml Vegetable stock
100 g Polenta (not quickset)
1 pinch of Nutmeg ground
300-400 g mixed mushrooms
2 shallots
2 Garlic toes
Parsley
Basil
50 ml Olive Oil (1)
Salt
200 g Cherry Tomatoes
pepper
2 Tblsp Olive Oil (2)
1 Tblsp Butter
30 g Parmesan, grated or shaved
Method:
- Mix Milk and Stock in pan and bring to the boil. Stir in Polenta ad the pinch of Nutmeg and leave on smallest flame for 20-25min, stir occasionally during this time, the Polenta should not get to solid, otherwise you will need to add a little water.
- Meanwhile prepare the mushrooms, and depending on the variety cut them into slices or pieces. Peel and finely chop the shallots; peel and finely slice the garlic; chop the parsley and chop the basil - keeping everything separate.
- Pour the first portion of Olive Oil in a small pan, add the garlic and warm up gently. Remove pan from stove and stir in a 1/4 of the basil and a big pinch of salt, let it sit for a minute.
- Meanwhile half or quarter the cherry tomatoes, and season the cuts with salt and pepper.
- Towards the end of the cooking time of the polenta, add the 2nd portion of Olive Oil in a large frying pan and heat up on high. Add the Mushrooms and Shallots and fry for 5 min on high heat.
- At the same time add the Tomatoes and the rest of the basil to the olive oil with the garlic and basil and heat up on high heat. Once hot, reduce heat to low and cover the pan.
- At the end of the frying time of the Mushrooms add the butter and parsley and season with Salt and Pepper
- At the end of the cooking time of the Polenta add the cheese and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the Polenta in a preheated bowl, place the mushrooms on top and serve the tomatoes on the side.
NOTE: If you are like me I am not very fond of polenta in it's 'liquidy form', here is a little trick on how I served this meal: I cooked the Polenta ahead of time, without the cheese but fully seasoned - as per above recipe. Once the polenta was cooked I poured it into a rectangular shaped deep dish. so the polenta was about 30 mm thick. I let it completely set and cool. (You can do that a day ahead). Once I was ready to start cooking, I turned the solid polenta on a cutting board and cut it into 6 pieces. now I pan fried the polenta on both sides. This will need another frying pan with plenty of butter or oil, don't handle the slice too much, otherwise it will fall apart. Fry it like a piece of meat on each side for about 4-5 min, while you prepare the tomatoes and mushrooms.
Serve polenta slice on the plate and place mushrooms and tomatoes on top - then grate or shave some parmesan cheese on top.
Bon Apetit!
