There are some foods I did not use for a long time. I was hesitant to use them or make something with them for no real reason. One was risotto which has changed in the last couple of month. I highly recommend to try either my Vegan Mushroom Risotto or my Saffron Risotto Miso Tiger Prawns. Polenta also belongs to those foods I did not give a chance for a long time. As I remember a while ago I ate Polenta somewhere and I did not like it. Therefore Polenta was out of my mindset and I did not create any recipes with it until this Vegan Polenta with Creamy Mushrooms.
The cornmeal is cooked in lots of liquid like water or broth. You need approximately 5-6 times the volume of liquid compared to the cornmeal.
I am glad I did give Polenta another chance, it really convinced me. Polenta is a dish of boiled cornmeal. I believe in the South of the US Polenta is more known under the word “grits”. Polenta is the Italian wording for this dish. You can add meat, fish, vegetables or cheese to your Polenta to change the taste of it. Due to the gelatinization of the starch Polenta has a creamy texture and is quite filling. Especially as a vegetarian or vegan dish Polenta works very well. My Polenta with Creamy Mushrooms is the perfect dish for a grey, rainy day or when you need some soul food to put a smile on your face.
Polenta can be eaten right away like a mash or porridge style or you can let it cool and set in a baking dish that you lined with foil and when it is cooled and set, you can cut it into pieces. Those Polenta pieces can then be browned in some olive oil or butter or even be served cold.
Not a low carb dish but sometimes you just need some hearty soul food to put a smile on some once face.
Vegan Polenta with Creamy Mushrooms
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Ingredients
Polenta
- 1 cup Polenta
- 4 cups Water
- 2 tbsp Nutrional yeast
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Sea Salt – For seasoning
- Black Pepper – For seasoning
Creamy Mushrooms
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 3 cups Mushrooms – what ever you can find at your local store
- 1 Shallot chopped
- 1 cup Red Wine
- 1 cup Vegetable Broth
- 2 tbsp Cashew Butter
- Sea Salt – For seasoning
- Black Pepper – For seasoning
Instructions
Polenta
- Bring the water with approx. 1 tsp salt to boil. Add the polenta while you are whisking. Whisk for some more minutes, reduce the heat to low.
- Let your polenta simmer for 20-30 minutes, whisk everything once in a while. If it gets too thick, add some more water. When the Polenta is done, add the nutrional yeast and season with salt and pepper.
Creamy Mushrooms
- Peel the shallot and chop it. Heat the coconut oil in a pan that has a nigh rim until they are golden. Add the washed and coarsely chopped mushrooms, sautee them for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the red wine and let it reduce for some minutes, then add the vegetable broth and the cashew butter, whisk everything until the cashew butter dissolves. After some minutes the sauce will thicken. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Serve your polenta with creamy mushroom sauce on top and maybe some sauteed vegetables like green asparagus.
