Pancetta Boursin Polenta With Sauteed Mixed Mushrooms Recipes

WILD MUSHROOM POLENTA WITH PORCINI SAUCE

Steps:

• Prep the porcini:
• In a small bowl, combine porcini mushrooms and 1 cup warm water. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 30 minutes. Remove porcini mushrooms from the liquid, strain and reserve liquid. Finely chop the mushrooms and set aside.
• Roast the mushrooms:
• While the porcini are soaking, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 450°F. On two rimmed baking sheets, gently toss mushrooms with thyme and oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast mushrooms until edges are browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté shallot until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add white wine and bay leaf and increase heat; boil until most liquid evaporates, about 7 minutes. Add reserved chopped porcini mushrooms, vegetable stock, and reserved mushroom liquid. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
• In a small bowl, stir butter and flour together until it forms a paste. Whisk the butter mixture into the mushroom sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make the polenta:
• In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water and the salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the polenta, whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until thickened and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in the cheese,and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve polenta immediately topped with porcini sauce and roasted mushrooms.

SAUTEED MUSHROOMS WITH POLENTA

Steps:

• Spray a miniature loaf pan (5 3/4 by 3 1/4 by 2 inches) with nonstick vegetable spray. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups salted water to a boil. Whisking constantly, add polenta in a slow steady stream. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook, whisking constantly for 3 minutes. Stir in grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and butter. Pour polenta into prepared pan. Transfer to refrigerator until completely cool, about 2 hours.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in parsley and thyme. Add Madeira, and cook, stirring to scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until liquid is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Taste, and adjust for seasoning.
• While mushrooms are cooking, remove polenta from refrigerator. Using a small spatula, loosen polenta and remove from pan. Turn polenta out onto cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add polenta slices and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Add additional oil as needed to avoid sticking. Serve immediately, topped with sauteed mushrooms and garnished with Parmesan curls.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• For the polenta, bring 4 1/2 cups water and the milk to a high simmer in a medium-size heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add salt. Pour the cornmeal slowly into the liquid, stirring with a wire whisk to prevent clumping. Continue stirring as the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Turn heat to low. Cook for approximately 40 to 45 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes. If the polenta becomes quite thick, thin it with 1/2 cup water, stir well and continue cooking. Add up to 1 cup more water as necessary, to keep the polenta soft enough to stir.
• Add the butter to pot, and stir well. Add the Parmesan, if using. Taste for seasoning. Set the covered saucepan in a pot of barely simmering water, and keep warm for up to an hour or so.
• Meanwhile, put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl, and cover with about 1/2 cup boiling water. Allow to steep for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, and pat dry, then chop roughly. Reserve the mushroom stock.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a sauté pan set over high heat until it has melted. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to sizzle, about 30 seconds. Do not let the garlic brown.
• Add the fresh and reconstituted mushrooms and thyme to the pan, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, turning until browned. Add about 1/4 cup of the mushroom stock to deglaze the surface, using a wooden spoon to scrape at the browned bits. Allow the stock to reduce by half, then turn the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, whisking to combine, followed by the soy sauce, cream and olive oil. Allow mixture to cook until it thickens a little, then remove from heat. Taste for seasoning, adding black pepper, if desired.
• Put the polenta in a warmed bowl, then top with mushrooms and the sauce. Serve immediately.

PENNE WITH PANCETTA AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and set aside. Meanwhile, cook pancetta in a large skillet over medium heat until browned but not crispy, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
• Pour pancetta grease out of the skillet, and add butter. Increase heat to medium-high and stir in sliced mushrooms. Cook and stir until the mushrooms have softened and released their liquid. Add the minced garlic, and cook 2 more minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, then stir in cream and Italian seasoning. Simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly.
• To serve, toss the cooked penne with the sauce, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

PANCETTA & BOURSIN POLENTA WITH SAUTEED MIXED MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Bring the vegetable stock to a boil in a large saucepan. Season with salt and pepper and add several larger mushrooms to the stock to fortify it. Lower heat and cook mushrooms and stock for 6 - 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile in another pan, render the Pancetta at a low heat until thoroughly cooked then remove the meat from the pan and squeeze all oil out with paper towels. You can also use regular bacon or turkey bacon or none at all, depends upon your taste and if you're vegetarian or not.
• Ensure you still have 4 1/2 cups of liquid, if not add water and a bouillon cube to the stock. Remove all the mushrooms with a slotted spoon, draining the liquid and reserve off to the side with the rest of your smaller mushrooms.
• Ensure you have a whisk and a wooden spoon or equivalent at the ready and a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper! Bring the stock back to a boil and add the polenta to the fortified stock in a thin stream, whisking continuously into the boiling liquid. As soon as it re-boils, reduce the heat immediately and swap your whisk for the wooden spoon. Stir in the pancetta, boursin, parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes (optional) and simmer the polenta until thick and porridge-like. WARNING the polenta may start to splatter volcanically, if this happens, remove from the burner and keep stirring until it calms down.
• Spread the polenta evenly over the lined cookie sheet to about ½ to ¾ inch thick. Use the wooden spoon to spread evenly and smooth the top of the polenta. Leave this to cool for the next 20 - 30 minutes while you prep and cook the remaining items. If necessary, the polenta can be prepared up to a couple days in advance.
• Cut the polenta into long triangles and re-warm or pan-fry until lightly golden and crispy. I've tried it both ways, and prefer leaving the polenta as-is and foregoing the extra calories added to the dish by pan-frying. In either case you'll be serving each guest a couple triangles, so arrange a couple on each plate and prepare them for the delicious mushroom stir-fry!
• Have some long matches or a BBQ lighter and the marsala wine open and at the ready. Put a 60/40 mix of vegetable oil to olive oil in a frying pan and heat on medium heat to the smoke point. Add all the mushrooms and stir briskly for about 1 minute salting them with some kosher or sea salt. Add the shallots (or pearl onions), garlic, wild garlic shoots (or green onion) and chopped thyme and stir in to the mix. Pour in the marsala wine and immediately light the wine with a long match or lighter to quickly burn off the alcohol. Add the butter and stir into the marsala to create a creamy sauce. Season with more sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir-fry until mushrooms appear golden and cooked.
• Divide the mushroom stir-fry evenly amongst the plates, placing the mushrooms on top of the polenta and serve immediately.

BRANZINO WITH POLENTA, WILD MUSHROOMS AND WATERCRESS

Steps:

• Preheat a large saute pan with the canola oil and 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Place the branzino in the pan skin-side down and cook until the skin is crispy, about 10 minutes. Flip the fish with a spatula and cook the other side for 1 minute. Set aside.
• Add the milk to a small pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, add the polenta and cook, stirring slowly, for 10 minutes, then add the mascarpone and 1 tablespoon butter. Cover and remove from the heat.
• Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the remaining tablespoon butter, then the shallots and garlic, and cook until translucent. Break mushrooms by hand and add to the pan, then cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the white wine and cook for 10 more minutes. Stir in the sherry vinegar and remove from the heat.
• Place the polenta on the bottom of 2 plates, spoon the mushrooms over the polenta and place the branzino fillets on top. Garnish with the watercress, then drizzle with the olive oil and squeeze the lemon over the top.

POLENTA WITH PEAS AND PANCETTA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in sauce pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook until crisp, 5 minutes then remove to a plate. Add the liquids to the sauce pot and bring to boil. Whisk polenta into the liquid and continue to whisk 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and stir in peas to heat through 1 minute more. Remove from heat, stir in cheese and adjust seasoning. Garnish with pancetta.

SHRIMP AND PANCETTA ON POLENTA

Steps:

• Cook polenta according to package instructions in a heavy medium saucepan until thickened and creamy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt, then cover.
• Cook pancetta, garlic, and red pepper flakes in 2 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until garlic is pale golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice and simmer until liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, 6 to 8 minutes. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt.
• Spoon polenta into shallow bowls and top with shrimp mixture. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil, season with pepper, and sprinkle with parsley.