Recipe Vortex

Polenta

4 ½ c veggie or chicken stock ( or sub water with 1 tsp salt, or sub 2 cups of the stock with milk)

1 cup polenta ( ground corn meal)

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optional -1/2 cup cheese ( goat cheese, white cheddar, parmesan, romano) or leave it out!

1–2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

1/8 tsp white pepper

salt to taste

1/ 2 teaspoon Truffle oil ( optional)

Mushrooms

2 cups wild mushrooms (chanterelles or morels) or sub button mushrooms, cremini, miatake, shittake or portobellos)

1–2 T oil or butter

1 shallot, diced

2–3 cloves garlic, rough chopped

1 T fresh sage ( or sub rosemary or thyme)

finishing salt

Garnish- drizzle of truffle oil ( optional- but worth it! )

To make the creamy polenta, heat 4 1/2 Cups of flavorful stock (or salted water or use part milk) in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn heat down to low or off to avoid getting splattered. Gradually add 1 C polenta to the hot liqud while whisking vigorously to avoid any clumping. Cover and let cook on very low heat for 20 mins before adding any “fats”. Somehow this allows the polenta to “open up” . If you are using a course polenta you could cook longer. You could even cover the pot and stick in a 350F oven for 45 min-1 hour. You can stir every 5- 10 minutes if you want, but I normally just cover it leave it without a stir and it is just fine.

When the polenta has cooked, then add your choice of olive oil, or butter, optional cheese, white pepper, and adjust for salt.

To cook the mushrooms, heat oil over med heat, add shallots, garlic and mushrooms, cook 6-7 minutes until mushrooms release their liquid, lowering heat if necessary. Add the sage leaves right at the end and cook for on minute. Season with salt and white pepper.

Serve atop your bed of delicious creamy polenta.

Drizzle with Truffle oil if you want.