Creamy polenta with golden mushrooms: the 25-minute autumn dinner
It’s dark by seven o'clock, we come home with cold hands, and we want something warm that isn't too heavy. Creamy polenta ticks every box: ten minutes of cooking, a velvety texture, and topped with pan-seared mushrooms that smell like the forest and browned butter.
In practice
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Serves: 2 people
- Level: easy
The ingredients
- 160 g quick-cook bramata polenta
- 700 ml hot vegetable broth
- 100 ml whole milk
- 40 g freshly grated Parmesan
- 400 g seasonal mushrooms: chanterelles, porcini, or brown button mushrooms
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, smashed in its skin
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 knob of butter
- Juice of half a lemon
- A few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
- Salt, freshly ground pepper
The recipe, step by step
1. Brush, don't rinse
Mushrooms hate water: they soak it up and then refuse to brown. Brush them off, scrape the stems, and cut them into large pieces—generous enough to keep some bite.
2. Start the polenta
Bring the broth and milk to a simmer in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Pour in the polenta in a steady stream while whisking constantly, then turn down the heat. Eight to ten minutes, stirring regularly: it will thicken, make lazy bubbles, and then it's ready.
3. Properly brown the mushrooms
Use a very hot pan, olive oil, and place the mushrooms in a single layer. Most importantly: don't touch them for two to three minutes. That is how you get color. Only then should you season with salt, stir, and add the shallot, garlic, and thyme.
4. Butter at the end
Add a knob of butter to the hot pan, letting it foam and coat the mushrooms for thirty seconds. Off the heat, add the lemon juice: it will sizzle, deglaze the pan, and wake everything up.
5. Finish the polenta
Off the heat, fold in the Parmesan and season generously with pepper. If it has thickened too much, a ladle of hot broth will bring it back to life—it should flow slowly, never stand up on its own. Pour into warm shallow bowls, make a well in the center, add the mushrooms with all their juices, and finish with parsley and a drizzle of raw olive oil.
The trick that changes everything
Polenta must be served on a warm plate. Run the plate under very hot water for thirty seconds and dry it off: on a cold plate, the cream will set in two minutes and all your hard work will be lost.
The weekend version
Place a soft-boiled egg in the center and break it with a knife right before serving: the yolk mixes with the corn cream and the dish moves up a level. For meat-eaters, two thin slices of dry-cured BĂĽndnerfleisch, dry-pan-fried and crumbled over the top, have the same effect, with an added crunch.
And the next day
Never throw away leftover polenta. Pour it while still warm into a small dish and let it set in the fridge: it will become firm, can be cut into sticks, and pan-fried in olive oil until crispy. Served with an autumn salad, these are the best fries of the week.
It is also the ideal dinner after a late-day workout: warm, comforting, and substantial enough to keep you from opening the cupboard at ten o'clock at night.