Mushrooms are a fantastic vegetable to have in and I buy some almost every time I go grocery shopping. They can be fried for breakfast and served on hot buttered toast, blitzed into a quick soup for lunch, or stuffed with lemon zest and breadcrumbs and roasted for dinner.
Irish mushrooms are widely available and I find the large portobello ones the best for adding meatiness to stews and body to soups.
Here I’ve made a simple mushroom mix with a rich earthy flavour. It makes a great filling for omelettes or can be stirred through pasta. Plenty of freshly chopped parsley adds freshness, baby spinach leaves can also be used and really add to the taste. Lemon juice works well to brighten and lift these fungi.
This mushroom mix can also be served with puréed cauliflower or mashed potatoes, but I’ve chosen to pair it with some gorgeous creamy polenta and Gorgonzola.
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Polenta is coarsely or finely ground cornmeal that is boiled into a porridge with water. It can then be eaten immediately as soft polenta or left to cool and set, then grilled or fried. Traditionally polenta takes a long time to cook, having to simmer for almost an hour and be stirred constantly. However, fast-cook polenta, which I’m using here, is also available and only takes minutes to cook. It’s a great ingredient to have in the larder as dinner can be whipped up in no time. Polenta benefits from plenty of additions such as cheese, butter and olive oil.
Folding through fresh herbs or cheeses can completely transform the dish. Polenta is a delicious blank canvas and a great base for roasted summer tomatoes, wilted greens or mushrooms. Scattered with piquant rich Gorgonzola it makes a decadent summer feast.
Recipe: Polenta with mushrooms and Gorgonzola
Lilly’s kitchen tips:
- Any polenta leftovers can be thickly sliced, toasted and served for lunch the next day with a simple salad of dressed green leaves.
- Leftover polenta is also great cut into cubes, fried and used as croutons for soups or salads.
- Herbs help to enrich your food and gut microbiome so add them generously to each meal. Parsley, sage, thyme, oregano and rosemary are particularly useful and grow well here in Ireland.
