When you prepare polenta correctly it will come out very creamy and will have a rich feeling. You don’t have to add fat or cheese to it. It really easy to prepare crispy mushrooms in the oven. You just toss them with a few things and they go in a 300 degree F oven for about the same amount of time it takes you to prepare the polenta (40 minutes). I was roasting beets at the same time so I just added a few slices. I topped it with some fresh crushed sea salt, black pepper, part of a dried Calabrian pepper, fresh basil and a couple leaves of sage that I fried in the oven.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

4 1/2 cups water

3/4 teaspoon course sea salt

1 cup polenta (not instant)

5 oz oyster mushroom (any type of cluster mushroom) – cleaned however you prefer to clean them and broken down

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

scant 1 oz. shredded parmigiano reggiano (weigh .08 oz)

fresh crushed sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Set oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl add the rosemary, garlic, oil, cheese and give it a good mix then mix in the mushrooms and get them all coated with everything. Next spread the mushrooms out in a single layer with a little room around each mushroom piece. They go in a pre=heated 300 degree F oven till crispy. Timing will differ due to size of mushrooms. Usually 30 – 40 minutes for me.

While your mushrooms are in the oven make the polenta.

Add the water and salt to a pot and bring it to a boil and then slowly add the polenta and keep stirring. Slowly lower the heat and keep stirring. When it seems thick you can put the heat on your lowest setting. You don’t have to stand there for 40 minutes stirring but the more your stir the creamier your polenta will be. You can loosely cover the pot with foil and get up to stir about every five – ten minutes till done. (about 40 minutes)

Serve. Top with mushrooms. Add fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. You can get a little fancier if you want with crispy sage and some fresh torn basil. A little high quality olive oil too if you like.

Enjoy!