I have made this recipe of mine several times it makes for a good lunch or a health vegetarian dinner. It is great by itself but I came across a wonderful recipe for roasted garlic sauce and tried it with this. The sauce was awesome and would pair well with anything from chicken, vegetables to meat loaf. If you do not make the sauce to go with the polenta, I also add mascarpone cheese to the polenta and I add garlic cloves along with extra herbs and a splash of balsamic vinegar to the mushrooms. I use 2 minute quick cooking polenta so it takes me about 25 Min’s from start to finish on this recipe if you use regular polenta then the cooking time will more likely be abput 40 Min’s. This does include the time to roast the garlic which takes about 40 Min’s but I usually do that earlier in the day and then it is ready to go when I need it.

Ingredients

Note: If not making sauce to go with add a few garlic cloves, extra herbs and a splash of balsamic to mushroom mix. Also add about 100g of mascarpone cheese as well and I would up the butter to about 80g.

50g Butter
150g Oyster mushrooms, halved
250g Chanterelles, chopped roughly
250g Swiss brown, Sliced if large or halved if small
2 Large portobello mushrooms (350g) chopped roughly
300g Vine-ripened tomatoes
1 Red onion, sliced thinly
600ml Milk
600ml Water
1 Vegetable bouillon cube
250g Quick cooking polenta (above ingredients from milk down are as per my polenta packet instructions so please follow yours.)
40g Butter
3/4 Cup Parmesan cheese
1 Teaspoon white truffle oil
3 Tablespoon parsley, chopped
3 Tablespoons chives, chopped

Roast Garlic Sauce

1 Garlic bulb (large-sized)
2 Cups vegetable broth
4-6 teaspoons soy sauce
1 Teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crumbled
1 Teaspoon dried marjoram
2-3 Teaspoons cornflour

Method

1. Melt butter in a pan add onion stir until onion softens, add mushrooms, cook stirring until tender, add tomatoes last as these only take a couple of minutes, stir in herbs.

2. While mushrroms are cooking bring milk, water and stock to boil add polenta, cook stirring a couple of minutes until polenta thickens, stir in, butter, Parmesan cheese and truffle oil.

Place polenta in a bowl top with mushrooms and pour sauce over the top.

Roast Garlic Gravy

1. Peel outer layers of garlic to thin out a little making sure there is enough skin so that the the garlic flesh is not exposed.

2. Place garlic in a small oven proof dish drizzle generously with olive oil and roast in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for about 30-40 Min’s until inside is soft. Remove and allow to cool so it can be handled easily.

3. Squeeze out all the soft garlic pulp from the cloves, you can either do this in a bowl and mash garlic well or I prefer to squeeze into a saucepan, I add the liquid and then I process with a bar mix until smooth, take your pick.

4. Add broth, soy and herbs, it is now that I blend with a bar mix, mix a little water with cornflour add to sauce and stir until sauce boils and thickens.

Serve over mushroom polenta.

All photos taken by me unless otherwise stated.

Serves 4