Tired of the same old dinner routine? Spice up your weeknights with a delicious and comforting meal that’s sure to satisfy: Mushroom Polenta with Leek Confit! This hearty vegetarian dish is deliciously savory, creamy in texture, and packed full of flavor. It takes minutes to prepare yet will give you a restaurant-worthy experience perfect for any night at home -- plus, it's sure to impress even the most picky eaters. Get ready to enjoy this amazingly flavorful treat as we explore each step needed to create it. Bon Appétit!
My Polenta obsession is going strong! This Mushroom Polenta with Leek Confit is the perfect vegetarian comfort meal for these cozy months!
Mushroom Polenta is one of the easiest dishes that's made from ground cornmeal which is cooked in water or broth until it becomes a thick, creamy porridge. That's polenta in it's simplest form. In my opinion, you must jazz it up with a number of things to really make it shine. Mushroom Polenta on it's own isn't loaded with flavor, but Polenta mixed with milk, butter, parmesan and some creative toppings is actual comfort in a bowl! In this case, my Mushroom Polenta is getting some crispy mushrooms, a spoonful of leek confit and a healthy dose of salty parmesan cheese!
If you're in the market for even more comforting recipes like this Mushroom Polenta - these are my favorites:
- Here's is my basic Cheesy Polenta recipe that you can use for just about anything!
- Sausage Ragu over a bed of Polenta
- White Cheddar Polenta with Tomatoes
- Goat Cheese Polenta with Basil Vinaigrette
- Chicken Ragu over Polenta
- And if you really want to impress for your next dinner party... do a Polenta Bar
Caramelized Mushroom Polenta
Ingredients
For the Polenta
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup polenta
- Kosher salt
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
For the Mushrooms
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 pounds maitake mushroom torn apart into LARGE pieces
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves smashed and roughly chopped
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- ¼ cup half and half
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 1 recipe Leek Confit
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Slowly add the polenta, stir with a wooden spoon, and add 1 teaspoon salt. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the polenta is tender and full cooked, about 20 minutes. Add the milk, 2 tablespoon of the butter, and the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to the polenta and stir together over medium-low heat until just warmed through and soft enough to drop easily from a spoon, a few minutes more. Cover to keep warm.
- For the Mushroom; Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown and release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are crispy but still juicy, seasoning with salt and pepper toward the end of cooking. Add the shallot, garlic and thyme and cook for 4 minutes more. Add the half and half and the wine. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid thickens just slightly and coats the mushrooms evenly, a few minutes more. Discard the thyme sprig and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.
- To serve, layer in a spoonful of polenta in a serving bowl followed by a spoonful of the confit and then top with mushrooms and parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe by What’s Gaby Cooking
Made this as a side with sliced hanger steak last night. It was the star of the show! Creamy delicious!
My husband loved this dish! Thank you
Hi, looks amazing and might make it as a main or side tomorrow but how many does this serve?
Thanks!
depends on serving size but roughly 4-6 people!
Looks divine! Question: I bought a big Costco container of dried wild mushrooms, could I use these, rehydrated?
haven't tried it with dried!! But LMK how it goes for sure!
Hi Gaby,
Can I use already ready polenta? Like the Aurora one? How would that change.
I haven't tried it with ready polenta so I can't say with certainty. But I'd assume it would totally work!
How can you do this without the dairy?
Looks amazing! How do you reheat the polenta?
Perfect. Going to Octoberfest party/potluck. Can't wait to try this. Yummy!
YOU'VE BEEN BUUUUSY GIRLFRIEND! This polenta is a chilly night dream!
So many good eats and those mushrooms are epic!
That polenta is gorgeous and the whole post is making me hungry!!!
What an incredible opportunity and the food from the event looks ahhmazing! This caramelized mushroom polenta is the perfect cozy meal on a chilly fall night! It's like a big warm hug!
This looks yummy!
How much in advance of. Dinner party could I make this? Ie can it “warm” for an 45 min or hour during apps or do I need to choose something else?
Also the men coming insist on meat 🙂 is there a meat main you’d recommend long side?
Thank you!
that would totally work to keep it warm during appetizers! You could even make the polenta a day ahead of time and add some extra liquid if you need to thin it out.
I'd do a flank steak or something like that for the meat main!
Hi gaby!
Would you go about the same way with the tomatoes instead of mushrooms?
Not a fan of them 🙁
I would just do chopped raw tomatoes and toss them with some olive oil, salt and pepper
This is the perfect bowl of fall deliciousness! The trip sure looked inspirational and aspirational!!