I was looking for a good side dish to go with our fennel-roasted leg of lamb the other day and decided that this polenta looked like a good fit. Ideally it would have been made with a mix of fresh mushrooms, but I didn't have any on hand and didn't want go out just for mushrooms, so I opted to use some mixed jarred mushrooms that I picked up a few weeks ago. I feel that this worked quite well, although I think I'd omit all the oil from the recipe next time (rather than just reducing it) since the preserved mushrooms clearly soaked up a lot of the oil they were packed in. Still... I'm happy with this approach overall and shelf stable mushrooms certainly make recipes like this more convenient to toss together on a whim!

This is another recipe that calls for Swiss chard as the preferred green. I had intended to use kale as an alternative, but, when it came time to actually make the polenta, we still have a few servings of spinach and beans left... So I opted to supplement those leftovers with some baby spinach and arugula that we had in the fridge and use that as the greens component of the recipe. I think this worked out pretty well! That said, I've chosen to write up the recipe closer to how it's presented in the book since I don't want the spinach and beans dish to be a requirement for making this. It just happened to be a convenience in this particular case.

Polenta with Wild Mushrooms, Spinach, and Cheddar

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 8 c. water
• 1/2 Tbsp. Better Than Bouillon (or equivalent)
• 1 1/2 c. cornmeal (polenta)
• 2 bunches Swiss chard (silverbeet) or kale, tough stems removed
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary¹
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2-4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 450-500g wild mushrooms (chanterelles, morels, porcini, etc.), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. grated Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Combine water, Better Than Bouillon, and cornmeal in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until very thick (40-50 minutes).
3. Meanwhile, blanch the greens with the rosemary until the stems are tender (4-8 minutes depending on maturity of greens). Drain, chop, and set aside. If using baby or frozen greens, skip this step.
4. Heat the oil and 1 Tbsp. of the butter over medium heat.
5. Add the shallot and mushrooms and cook until softened (8-10 minutes). If using oil-packed mushrooms rather than fresh, omit the oil and butter and just drain the mushrooms and cook them and the shallots in any residual oil that clings to them.
6. Add the greens to the pan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook until heated through.
7. Once the polenta has reached the desired consistency, stir in the salt and pepper, 1/4 c. of the cheese, and 1-3 Tbsp. of butter (depending on how rich you want it to be).
8. Transfer the polenta to a serving dish and spoon the mushrooms and greens onto it.
9. Top with the remaining 3/4 c. of cheese and serve.

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¹ Since I wasn't following the recipe for the greens portion of this dish, I just stirred a bit of dried rosemary into both the greens and the polenta. ^Back