Our creamy polenta with mushrooms and watercress is a smooth, cheesy and satisfying vegetarian dish that is packed with flavour. Polenta is a type of ground cornmeal that can be cooked as a soft porridge (like we have in our recipe) or left to harden and served as a loaf or even better, cut into chips and fried. Creamy polenta is popular in northern Italian cuisine and makes a delicious alternative to mashed potato. It is a typical peasant dish that is a storecupboard staple in many Italian households. This versatile ingredient can be slowly stewed, baked or fried to accompany a variety of different dishes. It’s also gluten free, so makes a delicious alternative to serve to gluten free guests. Wild mushrooms are a little more pricey than ordinary button mushrooms but make all the difference to this recipe. Creamy polenta with mushrooms and watercress is a comforting and warming side dish is a great option to serve with grilled chicken or roasted Mediterranean vegetables.
Ingredients
- 300g mixed wild and chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- 100g butter
- 2tbsp thyme leaves, or a handful of stalks
- 1 litre whole milk
- 200g polenta
- 80g vegetarian Parmesan, finely grated
- watercress, to serve
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C. Toss the sliced mushrooms with 40g of the butter and the thyme leaves, season well and then roast in the oven for 10 mins.
- To make the polenta, heat the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat, when hot, reduce the heat and add polenta, whisking continuously. Leave to simmer for 20-30 mins.
- Remove the polenta from the heat and stir through the Parmesan, remaining butter and mushrooms. Top with watercress and serve when warm.
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