I am not sure what inspired the dream, but all my life, I have dreamed of eating my way through Tuscany (and this dream was born long before I read Eat, Pray, Love). Have you seen Under the Tuscan Sun? I loved it! Well, last year on my honeymoon, I finally made it to Tuscany and the experience was everything I hoped it would be. One of the many foods I fell in love with on our trip was polenta. I love that it is so versatile! In the dish I am featuring today, I used it as a bed for my mushroom appetizer. However, polenta can be formed into awesome cakes for entrees or super cute mini quiche like cups for appetizers! I love this stuff.
Today’s Polenta Recipe: Sauteed Mushrooms over a Bed of Cheesy Polenta
This recipe will make 4 generous appetizer portions, or you can eat it as two entrees as my husband and I did last night!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2-3 cloves garlic (depending on how strong you like your garlic flavor), crushed
- 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 1/2 cup polenta, unprepared. (The polenta is near the pasta in my grocery store. You want the unprepared polenta that looks like grains or grits…not the precooked version that comes in a roll)
- 2-3 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup grated cheese (Softer cheeses work great in polenta as they melt down easily. We used fontina for this recipe. However, we have also used Parmesan, grated very thinly, to a more powerful flavor.)
- 12 ounces of mushrooms. (We used a mix of baby bellas and crimini mushrooms today.)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (and low sodium broth works great as a healthier alternative)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Bring 2 1/3 cup water with a pinch of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Slowly add your polenta, stirring constantly as you add it to the water. You do not want lumps to form. Once the polenta has been added, reduce the heat to low and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The polenta should turn from its original grainy texture to a smooth consistency when it is ready.
- Add 1 tablespoon butter and your cheese to the polenta. Stir to combine and then cover to keep warm.
- Melt down 1-2 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. You do not want to burn your garlic as it will become bitter.
- Add the mushrooms and cover. Let them cook on one side for about a minute, flip them over, cover, and let them cook for another 2-3 minutes on the other side until they have softened and browned all over.
- Add the broth and rosemary to the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for a minute or so until the broth has reduced.
- Divide your polenta evenly among 2-4 shallow bowls or plates. Then, spoon the mushrooms over the polenta and drizzle with the juices from the mushroom pan. If you feel you need more moisture, drizzle the entire plate with olive oil.
I have shared this recipe at the following sites:
I looooooooove buttery mushrooms! Yum yum! I did not know Italians don’t use butter! I learn something new everyday!
P.S. You win a prize for leaving me the most comments on my blog. I don’t know what it is yet though.
Haha.
I looooove buttery mushrooms too! Italians do use butter, but every chef we talked to over there seemed to prefer olive oil over butter. Of course, they have olive trees all over the countryside, so it may be more of an accessibility thing than preference for flavor.
PS…. Ha ha. My prize… one date while I am in VA!
My mouth was watering the entire time I was reading this recipe! I’m going to try it – beautiful looking and healthy, too!
Have you READ Under the Tuscan Sun??? Not the same at all… but I digress…
Polenta… delicious, so easy to flavor and love the idea of the cheesy herby mushrooms!
I love mushrooms, in Russia we love mushrooms with fried potatoes.
Oh my goodness, that sounds sooooo delicious! I absolutely love polenta and with mushrooms it would be divine. Thanks so much for sharing this at Inspiration Friday this week!
Vanessa
I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award. You can check out this post to accept!
http://www.happyhourprojects.com/2011/08/versatile-blogger-award.html
Adrianne
Yummmmmmmmm, I love mushrooms, polenta too, this looks delish. Hugs!
Erin, When you go to Tuscany to eat your way through, don’t forget me! This would be the region I would pick too! I can’t wait to try this taste of Italy!!!! Please look for this on next week’s ON THE MENU MONDAY with a link back to your beautiful post! Thank you for bringing Tuscany to ON THE MENU MONDAY this week!
Yvonne
My hubby would love this he is a mushroom fanatic. Thank you so much for sharing and for linking up to Show and Share #2. I hope you are having fun at the party
A mommy’s life…with a touch of YELLOW
tyandwhitneyulrich.blogspot.com
This looks yummy! Thanks for linking this post up to Share the Love Wednesday!
Mary
What a GREAT recipe! Thanks for sharing it at Cast Party Wednesday. I hope you join me next week for another great party filled with amazing recipes!
Alright, you are a pro! This looks amazing!
I love the way you used polenta for the base of the buttery mushroom topping. It sounds fabulous and looks so cute. I am now following you. Hope you will visit my blog and follow me back.
Yum! This looks so good!
I would love it if you would share this and/or any other projects you have been up to at Tuesday Talent Show at Chef In Training Tomorrow! Plus there is going to be a fun giveaway too! Thanks so much and I hope to see you there!
-Nikki
http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/
Oh this is so mouth watering! I’d be happy to eat my way thru Tuscany, but for now I’ll settle with your Polenta! Visiting from OTMM