Creamy polenta with garlic sage mushrooms

Creamy polenta is a comfort food dinner staple. It’s the perfect side dish and served with garlic sage mushrooms in cream sauce, makes a delicious vegetarian dinner on chilly days.

Ingredients

For the creamy polenta: 

• Polenta. If you can’t find polenta, use coarse yellow cornmeal.
• Stock / water.  I use chicken stock but vegetable stock works just as well, especially if you want to keep this recipe vegetarian.
• Cream. Milk can be substituted.
• Butter.
• Parmesan. Use a vegetarian alternative, if required.
• Salt and pepper.

For the creamy mushrooms:

• Butter. Olive oil can be used instead.
• Garlic. 
• Sage. 
• Mushrooms. I used a variety of mushrooms but use any fresh mushrooms you can find. Cremini, button, Portabello, Shiitake and oyster mushrooms all work well.
• Cream. Heavy creamy/whipping cream.
• Lemon juice. 
• Salt and pepper. 

What is polenta?

Polenta is a classic dish from Northern Italy made with cornmeal. Other grains like rice have traditionally also been used but coarsely ground yellow corn is what most people are used to. It is cooked with liquid until it has a porridge consistency but can also be cooked, chilled and sliced before grilling. It’s similar to grits and South African pap, although both grits and pap are made with white corn. Polenta is a great gluten-free side dish and perfect served with saucy dishes.

How to make creamy polenta

1. Start the polenta: Bring water and/or stock and a generous pinch of salt to a boil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Whisk the polenta into the boiling liquid. Whisk until smooth with no lumps, then reduce the heat.
2. Cook the polenta: Cover with a lid then allow to simmer very gently over low heat for 20-25 minutes or until the polenta has absorbed the stock, has thickened and is creamy. If the polenta still tastes gritty, allow to cook for another 10 minutes until the texture is more to your liking.
3. Finish: Add the cream, butter and Parmesan cheese then season to taste. Cover with a lid and leave to steam off the heat for another 10-15 minutes. You can leave the polenta in the pot off the heat for up to an hour as it will stay warm. Stir well with a wooden spoon before serving.

How to make creamy mushrooms

Wipe the mushrooms clean with paper towel then slice. In a large pan set over medium high heat, melt the butter then cook the mushrooms in batches until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper then remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, cook the garlic and sage until fragrant then pour in the cream. Season with salt and black pepper then bring to a simmer. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Add the mushrooms and a squeeze of lemon juice then simmer for another 5 minutes. Spoon some of the polenta into serving bowls then top with the creamy mushrooms. Pour over the sauce and serve.

Can I make this ahead?

Polenta can be made ahead but will stiffen up once chilled. To reheat, add another half cup of stock, water or milk and heat over medium, whisking until smooth. The mushrooms can be made up to 3 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in a frying pan until hot and bubbling before serving. Similarly, leftovers can be kept in the fridge and reheated in the microwave until hot throughout.

Polenta recipes

1. Slow Cooked Short Rib Ragu on Polenta
2. Jalapeño lemon butter shrimp on polenta
3. Meatballs baked in tomato sauce on polenta