Recipe & Pic from The First Mess
This dish is incredibly flexible- using the basic polenta recipe as your foundation, you can layer on whatever veggies are in season!
2 cups almond milk or whole milk
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup stoneground polenta (not instant)
1/4 cup Mascarpone cheese plus more for garnish (optional)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound cremini mushrooms quartered
1 medium yellow onion quartered and thinly sliced
2 medium yellow, red, or orange bell peppers cored and thinly sliced
Baby spinach optional
Fresh chives for garnish
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for garnish
To Make The Polenta: Combine milk, 3 cups of water, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. When it simmers, slowly pour in the polenta and whisk to combine. Partially cover with a lid, reduce heat to low, and cook, whisking vigorously (get all the corners of the pan!) every 5 minutes, until polenta is no longer gritty and looks like creamy oatmeal or loose applesauce, about 30 minutes totalTurn off the heat and let the polenta sit off to the side, covered, for anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the peppers and mushrooms.
To Make The Sautéed Peppers And Mushrooms: Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and stir to coat in the oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and all the liquid is cooked off, about 8 minutes. Remove to a bowl and return the pan to the stove.
Add remaining oil and the onions and stir to coat in the oil. Cook until translucent and soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the bell peppers, add a big pinch of salt, some freshly ground black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 15 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of water, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until very soft, about 5 minutes more. Add the mushrooms back to the pepper mixture, stir to coat, cover, turn off heat, and set aside until ready to use.
Make The Egg: If you’re craving an egg, now would be the time to prepare it. (I prefer mine poached or fried for polenta but do what you please.) Just before serving, whisk the cheese into the warm polenta.
To Serve The Polenta: After the polenta has rested, whisk it to loosen it up. Stir in the mascarpone and cover until ready to use. Taste the polenta and check out the consistency. If you like it looser (as I do), whisk in another 1/4 cup of water as needed to loosen the polenta to the consistency of oatmeal.Divide polenta evenly among four bowls. If using the greens, stir them into the mushrooms mixture until just wilted then spoon over the polenta. Top each bowl with a fried egg, a sprinkling of some chives, and, if desired, a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano and a dollop of mascarpone.