Wild Mushroom Fricassee Over Polenta Recipes

MUSHROOM FRICASSEE WITH CREAMY POLENTA

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the 6 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, season lightly with salt, and cook, stirring, until the shallots just begin to color, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, thyme, and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms release their liquid, about 2 minutes. Add the Chicken Reduction, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half and has a saucy consistency, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the preserved truffles (if using). If the mixture thickens too much -- you want the mushrooms to be swimming in the sauce but there should be a mushroom in every bite -- add 2 tablespoons of the Chicken Reduction to thin it out a bit. Stir in the chives and crushed red pepper.
• Divide the Creamy Polenta among serving bowls. Top with the mushrooms and their cooking liquid and serve immediately.
• Heat a convection oven to 425 degrees F or a conventional oven to 450 degrees F.
• Rinse the chicken bones and pat them dry. Spread them out on two rimmed baking sheets in a single layer with a little room between the bones. Roast until golden brown, about 1 hour, flipping and turning the bones every 15 minutes or so.
• In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the rosemary and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the celery, onion, and carrot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are well browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and cook, stirring, until some of the juices evaporate, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and cook until almost all of it has evaporated. Add the chicken bones (with juices and drippings) to the stockpot, then add enough water to cover everything by about 2 inches (about 6 quarts). Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium to cook at a gentle simmer, stirring often to break up the bones and emulsify the fat, until the chicken is falling off the bones and the stock has a full flavor, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Remove the chicken bones and strain the broth several times through a chinois or other fine-mesh strainer. If you want to make and use the reduction right away, spoon off any visible fat floating on top of the stock. Otherwise, chill the stock until the fat solidifies on top, and then scrape off and discard most of it.
• Pour the defatted stock into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat slightly so the stock is not boiling so furiously. As the stock simmers, some of it will remain on the sides of the saucepan; use a spoon or ladle to pour some of the stock over this to deglaze it. (This will further increase the intensity of the flavor.) Continue simmering until the stock has darkened, thickened, and reduced to about 4 cups, about 30 minutes. The reduction can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Yield: 4 cups
• In a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the cream and milk until warm, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the salt and keep whisking until the liquid is very frothy (like a cappuccino) and hot. While still whisking, slowly rain the polenta into the pot. Continue to whisk until the granules swell, about 8 minutes. At this point, switch to a wooden spoon to stir the polenta. (It will get too thick for the whisk.) Keep stirring until the polenta has begun to thicken, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until it evenly begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until cooked through and the liquid has reduced, about 1 1/2 hours. The polenta might look "done" sooner, but it does continue to soften, so be patient. During this time, a skin might form on the bottom of the pan, which is fine.
• Just before serving, raise the heat to medium-high, stir in the butter and the cheese, and cook, stirring, until the butter is melted, then take the pot off the heat. If the polenta looks thin, don't worry, as it will thicken as it cools. Yield: 8 to 10 servings

POLENTA BITES WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND FONTINA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush both sides of polenta slices very lightly with oil and arrange on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Roast polenta until lightly golden brown and warmed through, about 25 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt butter with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until tender and browned, about 12 minutes. Add shallots, vinegar, salt, black pepper, and red pepper and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley.
• Divide mushroom mixture between baking sheets with polenta. Top with cheese. Continue to roast until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
• Arrange polenta bites on a platter and serve.
• Do Ahead
• Mushroom mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer to an airtight container and chill.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Sauté the onions, white mushrooms, garlic and the porcini in 4 fl oz of olive oil until lightly colored. Add basil, oregano and stock; bring to a boil.
• Slowly stir in polenta. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. The polenta should be thick and creamy. Add more stock if needed. Adjust the seasonings and keep warm.
• Just before serving, add cream and cheese and stir vigorously.
• Sauté the wild mushrooms in the remaining olive oil until tender, about 10 minutes. Spoon the polenta onto warm plate and garnish with the wild mushrooms and a sprig of fresh basil. Enjoy!

POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Stir the polenta thoroughly into one cup of stock. Bring the rest of the stock to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and slowly add the polenta, stirring. Cook until mixture thickens, a couple of minutes. Stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
• Heat the oil in a nonstick pan until it is very hot. Reduce the heat to medium high, and saute the mushrooms with the thyme until the mushrooms release their juices and the juices begin to evaporate. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the mushrooms over the top of the polenta, and serve.

WILD MUSHROOM RAGOûT ON CRISPY POLENTA WITH COMTE CHEESE

Steps:

• For polenta:
• Generously butter 13x9x1- inch baking sheet. Bring milk, broth, and bay leaf to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove saucepan from heat; cover and let steep 20 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Discard bay leaf. Bring liquid to boil. Gradually add polenta, whisking constantly until smooth. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until polenta is very thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Stir in Comté cheese and butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer polenta to prepared 13x9x1-inch baking sheet. Using wet hands, press polenta evenly over sheet to edges. Chill until firm, at least 3 hours. Cut polenta into 20 squares. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
• For mushroom ragout:
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons oil in large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add all mushrooms and sauté until tender and browned, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add shallots and balsamic vinegar; sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Season lightly to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
• Rewarm mushrooms in large skillet over medium-high heat until heated through. Add broth and simmer 1 minute. Stir in crème fraîche and half of parsley. Season mushroom ragout to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300°F. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add polenta squares to skillet and cook until browned, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in oven while cooking remaining polenta squares.
• Arrange 2 polenta squares on each plate. Top each with warm mushroom ragout; sprinkle with grated Comté cheese and remaining parsley and serve.
• MORE INFO:
• Comté is a semi-firm, Gruyère-style cow's-milk cheese made primarily in France's Franche-Comté region. It adds great flavor to this recipe and would also be delicious on a cheese platter. Comté is available at some supermarkets, cheese shops, and specialty foods stores.
• *Polenta can be found at some supermarkets, as well as at natural foods stores and Italian markets. If polenta is unavailable, substitute an equal amount of regular yellow cornmeal and cook it about half as long.

POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND VEGETABLE RAGOUT

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in skillet large enough to hold all the ingredients. Add onions and cook until they are soft and golden, about 10 minutes.
• Add the wild and domestic mushrooms with the garlic, marjoram and thyme and cook until mushrooms soften and release their juices.
• Meanwhile in another skillet, heat remaining oil and saute peppers until soft.
• Crush tomatoes in your fingers before adding to peppers, with tomato liquid, and cook over low heat until mushroom mixture is ready.
• When mushrooms are softened, add the wine and cook over medium heat to slightly reduce liquid.
• Combine contents of both pans and use to top polenta. This can be made a day ahead.
• To serve, heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Divide both polenta and sauce in half. Use two 10-by-15-inch glass baking dishes. Using half of polenta and half of sauce, spoon a third of sauce in bottom of one baking dish . Arrange half of polenta slices over the sauce. Spoon another third of sauce over polenta. Top with remaining polenta and then with remaining sauce. Repeat with second dish and remaining ingredients.