Gooey cheese and mushroom-stuffed baked polenta
I use a frozen mushroom medley for this but you can use fresh mixed mushrooms instead — just cook them a few minutes longer. You can also swap the cheeses for others that you prefer.
Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking: 45 minutes Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed Pinch of cayenne pepper 600g frozen mushroom medley
2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
250g pre-cooked/instant packet of polenta (maize meal)
1 tsp rock salt
100g Cambozola cheese or a mix of brie and gorgonzola/ dolcelatte, sliced
100g Cheddar cheese, grated
100g Parmesan or grana Padano cheese, grated 4-5 fresh sage leaves, roughly cut
Pinch of nutmeg Knob of butter
Salt and black pepper
METHOD
Preheat oven to 200°C. Saute the mushrooms: warm the oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the crushed garlic, cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt and pepper. Rinse the frozen mushrooms under cold water, to separate them from each other, then add to the pan with the garlic. Stir well and sauté uncovered at medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, add most of the parsley, stir in and switch off.
While the mushrooms cook prepare the polenta. Cook for as long as the packet instructions require. For mine, I bring 1.5 litres of water to boil, add the rock salt and quickly stir the water to dissolve it. Slowly pour in the polenta whilst stirring, and keep on stirring for a few minutes until you have a smooth consistency. If the polenta is too thick, simply add more boiling water to make it smoother.
When ready, add half of the cheese, a couple of shredded sage leaves and a pinch of nutmeg. Stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Line an oven dish of approx 25x25 cm with baking parchment. Pour in half of the polenta mixture, scatter with the remaining cheeses – keeping a handful for the very top layer for decoration if you want. Top with the sautéed mushrooms and the remaining sage, then cover with the remaining polenta. Smooth the top and scatter any left-over cheese. Rub over the top with the knob of butter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Grill the top for the last 5 minutes if you want to create a golden crust.
Serve sprinkled with the rest of the parsley either immediately – it will be soft with a runny cheese centre — or leave it to cool completely and firm up. If not serving immediately, lift the polenta bake from the tray onto a board, and cut into slices. You can then serve it at room temperature or warm each slice individually in the oven or microwave. It also freezes well.
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