Soft Polenta with Forest Mushrooms by Rick Tramonto

Soft Polenta with Forest Mushrooms
by Rick Tramonto with Mary Goodbody
from Amuse-Bouche
(Random House, 2002)
Serves 6 to 10

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Most people are potato crazed; I am polenta crazed. Soft polenta is as versatile as mashed potatoes — mix it with cheese, mushrooms, vegetables, even lobster. The key is to add enough butter so that it's irresistibly rich. I remember once eating soft polenta with roast pork at Chef Gualtiero Marchesi's three-star Michelin restaurant in Milan, Italy, in the early 1990s, and when we asked for seconds, they brought the pot from the kitchen, and scooped the golden polenta straight onto our plates.

Polenta is cornmeal cooked with liquid — usually water or stock — until it thickens. A careful cook stirs it with a wooden spoon, never altering the direction of the stir. Soft polenta has the consistency of hot cereal, while firm polenta, which is cooked with less liquid, cools to form a firm, sliceable block. In Italy, firm polenta is traditionally sliced with a length of taut string. Both types of polenta can be sautéed, grilled, baked, or fried and served as a side dish or as part of a main course. I like to serve it as an amuse with a tumble of earthy mushrooms cooked with shallots until softened. When you select polenta meal for this recipe, try to buy a good imported brand. If you cannot find it, substitute stone-ground domestic cornmeal. Try not to buy instant polenta, which never quite achieves the desired consistency.


convert		Ingredients
1/2 cup		polenta meal or cornmeal
2 1/2 cups		heavy cream
2 tablespoons		grapeseed oil
1/4 cup		chopped shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup		chopped black trumpet or chanterelle mushrooms
1/4 cup		chopped oyster mushrooms
2		garlic cloves, finely chopped
2		shallots, finely chopped
1		bay leaf
3 tablespoons		dry white wine
		Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons		grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, or more
2 tablespoons		unsalted butter

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Method

1. Put the polenta meal and cream in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning.

2. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms and sautéfor 10 to 15 minutes or until the mushrooms are browned and softened. Add the garlic, shallots, and bay leaf and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the garlic and shallots are softened. Add the white wine while stirring the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dissolve any browned solids into the liquid.

3. Remove from the heat, remove and discard the bay leaf, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

4. Add the cheese and butter to the warm polenta. Stir until the butter melts and the cheese is incorporated. Taste and add more cheese, if desired.

5. To serve, arrange a mound of polenta on a small plate or in small bowls. Top with some of the mixed mushroom sauté. Repeat to make 5 to 9 more servings.

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