Wild Mushroom Pie With Polenta Crust Food

MUSHROOM AND POLENTA POTPIE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine porcini mushrooms with boiling water. Let stand for 15 minutes. Pass soaking liquid through damp cheesecloth into a small bowl, and set aside. Finely chop porcini mushrooms, and set aside.
• Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot, and saute until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Raise heat to medium high, and add button mushrooms; cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining mushrooms, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in flour, and cook 1 minute. Stir in red wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any cooked-on bits on bottom of pan. Allow the liquid to reduce for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste and the reserved porcini liquid, and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, parsley, and thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine 2 cups milk with 2 cups water in a large saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Add polenta, and cook, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in Parmesan, remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, and 1 teaspoon salt. Place egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl, and stir in 1 cup of the polenta mixture. Stir the egg-and-polenta mixture back into the polenta, and adjust seasoning with salt, if necessary.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Stir half of the egg whites into the polenta, then gently fold in the remaining whites until completely incorporated. Set aside.
• Place the mushroom mixture in a shallow 2-quart casserole; heap polenta on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and place on a baking sheet. Bake until polenta is golden and mushroom filling bubbles, about 25 minutes.

POLENTA & MUSHROOM TART

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Grease and line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan, then slowly pour in the polenta, whisking all the time. Bring it to the boil and bubble for 8 mins, whisking continuously. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese, butter, rosemary and plenty of seasoning. Spread the polenta over the lined tray and bake for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, mix the mushrooms with the thyme and some seasoning. Heat a splash of oil in a large frying pan and fry the mushrooms in a couple of batches until golden. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and pat dry with kitchen paper. Top the baked polenta with the mushrooms and mozzarella, then bake again for 10 mins or until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Scatter the rocket over the tart and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar.

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.

WILD-MUSHROOM PIE WITH POLENTA CRUST

Steps:

• To make the crust, bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Whisking constantly, add the cornmeal in a very thin, steady stream. Turn the heat as low as possible. Cook for 1 hour, stirring vigorously every 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the porcini and water in a large saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the mushrooms and broth. Coarsely chop the porcini and set aside. Return the broth to the pan, add the wild-mushroom stems and simmer slowly until reduced to 1 cup, about 25 minutes. Strain and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots; saute 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and 1/3 of the mixed wild mushrooms; saute until browned and softened, about 5 minutes. Place in a bowl. Repeat until the remaining oil and mushrooms are used.
• With no mushrooms in the skillet, add the sherry and simmer, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon, until reduced to 1/2 cup. Add the mushroom broth, all of the mushrooms, the salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and whisk in 1 cup of the mushroom mixture. Stir the egg mixture into the skillet. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the cornmeal mixture is hot, stir in the mascarpone, salt and pepper. Generously brush a 10-inch springform pan with olive oil. Place the polenta in the pan, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and press it evenly over the bottom and 3/4 of the way up the sides of the pan. Discard the plastic. Spoon the mushrooms into the pan.
• Bake the pie for 1 hour. Garnish with the parsley. Serve hot or, for neater slices, at room temperature.

POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in large skillet and cook mushrooms over medium heat until golden brown. Season and keep warm.In a medium saucepan, bring stock or water to a boil. Stir in cornmeal. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally to prevent lumps. Cook for approximately 30 minutes. Taste the polenta, it should be thick and smooth without a coarse texture. Cook over low heat until the texture is correct. Stir in butter, cheese and salt and pepper. Serve hot as a side or main dish.

WILD MUSHROOM PIE

Steps:

• FOR CRUST:
• Mix flour and salt in medium bowl.
• Add butter and rub with fingertips until mixture forms coarse meal.
• Mix in enough water by Tbsp to form moist clumps.
• Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk.
• Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 45 minutes.
• (Can be prepared 2 days ahead; keep refrigerated.) Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round.
• Transfer to 9-inch glass pie plate; crimp edges.
• Refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Line pie crust with foil.
• Fill with dried beans or pie weights.
• Bake 10 minutes.
• Remove foil and beans.
• Bake until crust is set and begins to color, piercing bottom with fork if puffy, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to rack and cool.
• FOR FILLING: Place porcini in small bowl.
• Add enough hot water to cover.
• Let soak 30 minutes.
• Drain mushrooms.
• Melt butter in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add shallots and garlic and saute 1 minute. Add fresh mushrooms and saute until tender and liquids evaporate, about 5 minutes.
• Add porcini and saute 2 minutes.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Set aside. Whisk eggs, half and half, basil and thyme in medium bowl until blended.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Sprinkle half of cheese on crust. Top with mushroom mixture and remaining cheese. Carefully pour egg mixture over mushrooms.
• Bake until center is set, about 40 minutes.
• Transfer to rack and cool slightly.
• Garnish with parsley.
• Cut into wedges and serve. NOTE: such as crimini, chanterelles and/or stemmed Shiitake, thickly sliced

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.