Vegetable Polenta

Another easy vegetarian dish.

Recipe adapted from https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/oven-polenta-with-roasted-mushrooms-and-thyme

Serving: 4

Cooking Time: 30-45 mins

Ingredients:

  • 4 oz or 100g mushrooms, quartered or sliced

  • 8 oz or 200g asparagus (about 4 large stalks), trimmed, cut into 1"–2" pieces

  • 4 oz or 100g sugar snap peas

  • 2 green onions

  • 1 tsp of dried thyme or rosemary

  • 2-3 garlic cloves, smashed

  • Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

  • 1 cup polenta

  • 4 oz or 100g Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving

  • Flaky sea salt

Method:

preheat to 325F/160C.

Bring 4½ cups or 1 l of water to a simmer in a large ovenproof saucepan over medium-high heat. Add butter and a generous pinch of kosher salt and whisk to melt butter. Gradually add polenta, whisking constantly. (Gradually incorporating the polenta into the water is key to preventing clumps.) Return mixture to a boil, immediately cover pot, and transfer to lower rack in oven. Bake polenta, shaking baking sheet with mushrooms occasionally, until polenta is tender, 25–30 minutes.

cut dark green tops from spring onions and thinly slice; set aside for serving. Cut white and pale green parts into 3" pieces, halving lengthwise if thick; set aside.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in skillet and cook mushrooms, tossing occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and reserved white and pale green parts of spring onions and continue to cook, tossing often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add asparagus and peas and cook, tossing occasionally, until bright green and beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.

Remove polenta from oven. carefully uncover polenta and whisk vigorously, scraping bottom of pan, until polenta is smooth and thick. Gradually add the Parmesan, whisking constantly until melted and incorporated; taste and season with more kosher salt and pepper.

Divide polenta among bowls and top with vegetables, sea salt, and more Parmesan.

A somewhat healthy dish, besides the cheese and butter. a very simple but tasty dish, however the polenta was a bit too soft for me. I like my polenta more firm, so next time i will use less water. but this is definitely a much easier way to make polenta, instead of constantly stirring it over the stove, you just quickly blend it all together then stick it in the oven to let itself cook. so you can then focus on cooking other things. THe original recipe called for roasting the mushrooms which i might do next time as you might get a different flavor profile but i like my addition of the green vegetables so that it isn’t just mushrooms and polenta.

cookingJackie Wongpolenta, vegetable, mushroom, asparagusComment