Sauteed Mushroom with Cheesy Polenta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make Martha Stewart polenta? ›

In a large, deep saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. While whisking constantly, add polenta in a slow, steady stream. Reduce heat to medium, cook until thickened, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese, heavy cream, and butter.

Cooked veggies are the perfect way to add hearty texture, richness, and flavor to creamy polenta. Try pairing it with roasted broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, butternut squash, or cauliflower, with grilled mixed vegetables or zucchini, or with sautéed mushrooms.

Polenta is cornmeal made from ground flint corn. Typically, it's coarsely ground yellow corn, but sometimes it's finely ground yellow or white corn.

Cover the pot and let the polenta cook while you go about making the rest of dinner. Every 10 minutes or so, uncover the pot and give it a good stir to make sure it's cooking evenly and the sides aren't drying out. Thirty to forty minutes later, your polenta is ready for the table.

The Liquid

In Italian cooking, polenta is made with water. Some more Americanized recipes will prompt you to start with milk or stock, but (in my opinion) they are wrong. Hydrating your polenta with water will allow the flavor of the corn to shine, and it will allow each individual grain to absorb salt more readily.

Cooking it in milk will produce a rich and creamy polenta that's delicious and indulgent, but also heavy; stock (vegetable or chicken) will infuse the polenta with more flavor, but that flavor can also cover up the taste of the cornmeal.

In Italy, you'll find polenta made from yellow cornmeal or white cornmeal, though yellow is more common. The best polenta is made from stone ground corn, which comes in a coarse, medium, or fine grind. Cornmeal labeled polenta is usually a coarse-grind, but you can make the dish with a medium or fine-grind.

Polenta is the perfect side, thanks to its unique texture and golden color. This recipe focuses on the rich flavors of the tomatoes themselves, which pair quite naturally with polenta.

As a soft, just-cooked porridge, polenta owns a sweet corn flavor and robust texture. It takes on the flavors of its added ingredients, which can be as simple as its traditional partners, butter and cheese. Often porridge-style polenta is served topped with sautéed seasonal vegetables, meats and seafood. Get creative!

You can serve this basic side dish on its own or alongside protein such as Pressure-Cooker Short Ribs, pan-seared chicken, or seafood. Here, we're sharing our favorite ways to serve polenta for dinner as well as a few creative variations on this satisfying staple.

Is polenta good or bad for you? ›

Polenta is a healthful food choice with several nutritional benefits. Polenta may be good for health as it contains fiber and protein. It is also rich in complex carbohydrates, low in fat, and more. Polenta is cooked cornmeal that can be eaten as a side or used in a variety of recipes, from bread to desserts.

Polenta -- simmered cornmeal -- is one of Italy's most popular staple foods. Prized for its versatility, it can be paired with both savory and sweet flavors. Polenta comes in many forms; it can be chewy, gluey, crispy or extremely creamy.

Yes, both grits and polenta are made from ground corn, but the main difference here is what type of corn. Polenta, as you can probably guess from the color, is made from yellow corn, while grits are normally made from white corn (or hominy).

Cube the precooked polenta, and season it to your liking. That might mean just salt and pepper, or it could include dried oregano, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. You can either pan-fry or bake the polenta cubes until they are crispy. Chill the polenta croutons, and then use them to top a salad.

Keep in mind that the polenta will stick to the bottom of the pan and everything else if the oil isn't hot enough.

Pre-Cooked

Sold in tubes, this option can usually be found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket; you may also find shelf-stable tube-style polenta in the dry pasta aisle. Advantage: It's ready to eat and easy to slice.

The 45 minutes of cooking time is crucial. I always thought my polenta looked done after 15 or 20 minutes of cooking, but just because it's thickened doesn't mean the cornmeal has cooked through. Keep on cooking until it tastes creamy, corny, and a little bit sweet. That extra time makes all the difference.