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

This recipe makes A LOT of polenta and eggs! You have been warned.

The reipe as written calls for 8 eggs, but I really felt like that would be way too much polenta for the amount of egg. And we had a lot of eggs to use up, so I did it with a full dozen eggs. I think this produced an excellent egg-to-polenta ratio, but it does mean that you have rather a lot of baked eggs to eat. I suggest making them in individual ramekins so that leftovers can be easily reheated in individual portions.

Also, the recipe says that these are to be served with buttered toast. But, since the polenta already provides a nice, slightly buttery, cheesey, starchy backdrop for the eggs, I skipped the toast. I like them much better with a bit of tomato salsa or marinara sauce on top. Delicious!

Eggs Baked in Polenta

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 6 c. water
• 1 1/2 c. cornmeal
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. milk
• 2-4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1/3-1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 12 large eggs
• 150g Taleggio or fontina¹, shredded
• salsa or tomato sauce, to serve

Directions

1. Add the cornmeal and salt to the water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 25-30 minutes.
3. Add milk and butter and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
4. Stir in the Parmesan and nutmeg.
5. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease 12 ramekins or mini casserole dishes.
6. Divide the polenta among the the ramekins.
7. Make an indentation in the centre of each portion of polenta.
8. Break an egg into a cup and pour it into one of the indentations. Repeat with remaining eggs.
9. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the eggs.
10. Bake until polenta is golden around the edges and eggs are soft-cooked (~15 minutes).
11. Let stand for 3 minutes.
12. Top with salsa and/or tomato sauce and serve.

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¹ My fontina had gone off, so I just ended up using some mild marble cheddar for this go 'round. ^Back

A nice quick, easy, meal that produces very satisfying results. There's not much to it, but I found the sweetness of the onions and bell peppers really came through.

I didn't have quite as much sausage as the recipe called for, but I think it was still okay with the lesser amount. I also opted to toss a bouillon cube into the polenta in place of the salt called for in the original recipe. And, as usual, I cooked my polenta with a little more water than Cook's Country recommends. They advise a 4:1 ratio of water:polenta, but I usually do 5:1.

The only other change I made was to reduce the quantity of butter called for. I've been trying to eat a little healthier and I know just eating the same things with slightly less butter/fat won't make much difference, but hopefully it'll help a little.

Oh, and I was using Beyond Meat sausages, so this was actually a vegetarian meal for us as well.

Polenta with Sausage, Peppers, and Olives

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2017

Ingredients

• 5 c. water + 1 bouillon cube (or 2 c. water + 3 c. stock of your choice)
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 450g Italian sausages
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
• 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
• 425mL crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 3/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground, divided
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. pitted kalamata olives, halved
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Directions

1. Combine the water and cornmeal and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until very thick.
3. Meanwhile, cook the sausages over medium heat until browned on all sides (5-6 minutes).
4. Increase heat to medium-high and add the bell pepper and onion.
5. Cook until vegetables are softened (4-5 minutes).
6. Add the tomato, red pepper flakes, salt, and 1/4 tsp. of the butter and cook until slightly thickened (3-4 minutes). Break the sausages up a bit if you'd like.
7. Remove from heat and stir in olives.
8. When the polenta is done, remove from heat and stir in butter and remaining 1/2 tsp. of pepper.
9. Serve polenta topped with sauce.