Creamy polenta with wild mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes

I loved this recipe which is straight out of Light and Healthy 2010 by America's Test Kitchen. It was earthy, warm, comforting. The one thing I didn't like was how juicy the dish became. Some juice is necessary but this was a lot, and I think it may have to do with the first part of cooking the mushrooms covered. When I make this again, I will cook the mushrooms on high heat w/out salt until they are softened and browned and then add salt at the end.

Serves 4

For the topping:
2 pounds cremini mushrooms, halved if small, quartered if large
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, minced after being reconstituted
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounces baby spinahc
12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
Black pepper

For the polenta:
4 cups water
salt
1 cup coarsely ground cornmeal
1/2 cup Parmesan, divided
1 T unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
black pepper

For the topping, compile cremini mushrooms, onion, oil, porcini mushrooms, rosemary and 1/4 tsp salt in a large Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stir occassionally, until the vegetables are softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring occassionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes.

Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spinach, one handful at a time, and cook until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until just softened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside off the heat to keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring water and 1/2 tsp salt to a boil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Slowly add cornmeal, whisking constantly in a circular motion to prevent clumping.

Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring often and vigorously, making sure to scrape the corners of the pot, until all the polenta becomes soft and smooth, 10 to 15 minutes. Off the heat, vigorously stir in half the cheese and all the butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the polenta among 4 bowls. Divide vegetable mixture evenly among bowls, arranging it on top of the polenta. Sprinkle each portion with remaining cheese and serve.

Barley, Leek, Mushroom and Greens Soup

I was in Washington, DC for the holidays, and it was COLD! Nothing like a little soup to warm up and detox from the overload of French style holiday cooking. It takes about an hour total with prep but prep is not time consuming.

This is another earthy, warm, easy to make soup! Just loved it. My 8 year old nephew said, "Nirmala, I like your soup." Apparently, he never says that about anyone's cooking.

This recipe comes from the Dec 2009 issue of Bon Appetit.

Wild Rice, Butternut Squash, and Cannellini Stew

This recipe is SO delicious, it's unbelievable that it's done in about 30 minutes! It's warm, earthy, and perfect for the unrelenting rainy weather we've been having in California. Also a big plus are the various short cuts you can take (suggested in the recipe itself), including purchasing precooked wild rice and cubed butternut squash. I tried the cubed butternut squash and think it tastes better with fresh. The squash was more tender, and melted in my mouth. I've made this soup about 3 times now, and it tastes equally great if not better if you substitute the chard with kale.

It's a MUST try. DELICIOUS!

This recipe comes from Jan 2010 issue of Sunset magazine.

Broccoli Rabe, Navy Beans, and Mushrooms

I love Mark Bittman, The Minimalist, and columnist for the New York Times. At the beginning of the year he wrote a column about kitchen must haves which inspired and convinced me to toss aside canned beans in favor of dried. Canned beans are pretty cheap, convenient, and allow me to make meals very quickly. At times, I find the texture questionable especially of kidney and cannellini beans, and the liquid is just kind of weird.

So I purchased a bag of dried navy beans, cheaper than canned. I soaked them over night which actually requires forethought, and then cooked them in the pressure cooker for 20 to 25 minutes with salt, and they were AWESOME. The texture was so different, cooked but firm, not mushy. And they did not fall apart when I tossed them in salads or in this dish.

This Minimalist is right again, they taste SO much better.

Ingredients
- 1 cup navy beans (soaked over night)
- 1 head of broccoli rabe
- 1/2 pound or more mushrooms
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 3 cloves (or to your taste) of garlic
- 1 cup bean liquid (the liquid the beans were cooked in)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 to 4 T olive oil

First, I have to say I made this recipe as I went so the ingredient list was really to taste, a kind of a fly by the seat of my pants thing.

Soak beans over night, and then cook in the pressure cooker for about 20 to 25 minutes. I added 5 times the water than beans (so for 1 cup of beans, cook in 5 cups of water). Add salt to the water. If you forget the overnight soak, cook for 1.5 hours. Be sure to save some liquid from the beans.

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil, add broccoli rabe and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how tender you like your greens. Drain well, and then roughly chop.

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots, cooking until golden. Add mushrooms and garlic, cook until mushrooms are browned. Add chopped broccoli rabe and cooked navy beans. If a little dry, add some of the saved liquid. Taste for salt. Add pepper, and then serve.

Basil Puree

I wanted to use all the wonderful basil growing in my garden without making pesto pasta so I made a simple basil puree (courtesy of Deborah Madison) and used that as the sauce for a simple summer pizza. At the farmer's market and the new fabulous Berkeley Bowl, I bought mushrooms, shallots, and fresh mozzarella. Out of the freezer, I pulled a white whole wheat crust that I had made a few months ago, which turned out pretty well but was a little dense (since wheat does not rise as well).

Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients
-2 cups basil
-1/2 cup olive oil
-3 cloves of garlic
-1/2 tsp salt

In a food processer, add all the ingredients and chop until smooth and creamy, and spreadable.

I think it was very strong tasty, which I like, but I think I would have may be used slightly less of the puree on the pizza.

Mushroom Galette

Ursula and I before we dug in.

This galette was just amazing, as is every item I've made from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Deborah Madison did some serious testing of her recipes because they are all excellent. I don't have the words to describe the sensation that came over me when I ate this galette. It was wonderful. I was speechless.

If you love mushrooms than this recipe is a must try. It's savory, fragrant, tasty, and good to look at. It is rather labor intensive and quite the production so share with friends who can appreciate the effort. On a whim I invited two friends over at the last minute and I was fortunate that they were able to come over since there was no way I could eat this all by myself.

Ingredients
-Galette Dough (see June 2007 recipes)
-2 Cups Quick Mushroom Stock (Deborah makes her own stock; I used store bought vegetable broth)
-2 to 3 tsp Dijon mustard to taste
-Aged red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (made this so long ago couldn't tell you how much I used; a few T)
-1 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
-2 tsp minced rosemary or 1 tsp dried
-salt and freshly milled pepper
-2 pinches red pepper flakes
-1/2 pound portobello or shiitake mushrooms
-1 lb large white mushrooms
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-3 T tomato paste
-1 T butter
-2 T chopped parsley
-2 T melted butter or beaten egg for glaze

Preparation
Make the dough.

Season the stock with a few tsp mustard and just enough vinegar to sharpen the flavors. Set aside.

Heat 1 T of the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and rosemary and cook over medium heat until the onion is lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Season 1/2 tsp salt , a little pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Remove to a bowl.

Heat half the remaining oil in the same skillet over high heat. Add half the mushrooms and saute until browned, then season with salt and pepper. Remove to the bowl with the onions. Then repeat with the remaining mushrooms. Return everything to the pan, add the garlic and tomato paste diluted with a few spoonfuls of stock , and a tsp of the vinegar. Add the remaining stock, bring to a boil, then stir in the butter and the parsley. Cook for 5 minutes, then drain, reserving the juices.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roll out the dough for one large galette. Loosely fold the dough over the filling and brush it with melted butter. Bake until the crust is browned, about40 minutes. Heat any reserved juices and spoon them into the mushrooms.