1 food 5 ways, Mushrooms, Way #4: Herbed Polenta Cups with Mushroom-Onion Filling

More experimenting with mushrooms! I think I hit the flavor straight on, but the execution of it could have been improved a bit. Even with the less than perfect product, I can totally see this sage-y goodness on a plate with gravy for brunch. Or Thanksgiving. Or a Wednesday.

Herbed Polenta Cups with Mushroom-Onion Filling

Makes 12

(is it just me or does the one on the right remind anybody else a little of a Stormtrooper?)

Polenta:
2 cups vegetable broth

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup polenta (Also Known to us Southerners as grits. I use yellow but I suppose white would be fine)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus enough to oil pan
1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 Tbsp dried thyme

2 tsp dried rubbed sage

1/2 tsp ground rosemary

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp salt

Filling:

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1-1/2 cup red onion, coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp water

1-1/2 cup white mushrooms, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Lightly oil a muffin tin with olive oil.

Bring water/vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.

While waiting for the water to boil, begin the filling: Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When oil is heated, add the red onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the 2 Tbsp water. Continue to saute until the mushrooms are tender and the onions are browning, about 5 more minutes. Set aside until ready to fill the polenta cups.

While the filling is cooking and you're still waiting for the water to boil: In a small bowl, mix the 2 Tbsp olive oil and all the herbs for the polenta mixture.

When water/vegetable broth boils, add the polenta in a slow, steady stream. Be sure to mix with a whisk as you pour it. Add the olive oil/herb mixture and mix well so it is evenly distributed in the polenta. Lower the heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, leave covered and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Here's how I molded the polenta (and I'll note how I think it could have been improved afterwards)

I put about 1/4" polenta mix in each muffin cup, let cool about 5 minutes and formed a well in the polenta with my finger. Then put 1 heaping Tbsp filling in the well, trying not to touch the sides, then using a small spoon and my finger, built up the sides and topped it off with polenta to almost full. Push it down to help mold it and smooth the bottom with the backside of a spoon. The one in the picture is actually a tiny bit too full to make twelve polenta cups, so use a little less polenta than shown to finish it off.

Put muffin tin in the refrigerator for an hour or more so the polenta can set.

Preheat broiler and lightly oil a cookie sheet.

Loosen the cups with a fork (being careful not to separate the cups where the filling line is) and put rough side down on the cookie sheet. Broil until golden brown. This depends a lot on your broiler and how far down you put the sheet from the element (or flame). I use an electric oven, put the sheet about 5-6 inches from the broiler and it took 18 minutes. The directions for broccoli polenta in Veganomicon says to broil 3-4 inches away and it will take 7 minutes. So the trick is to put it at a distance with which you are comfortable and keep a close eye on it. Check it every couple minutes. As it gets close to done, you might even want to check every minute. When broiling, you can go from almost ready to burned in a flash.

Serve immediately.

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What I would do differently: The only issue I had with this was there was too much cooling while I was forming the cups, so the final product wasn't as sturdy as polenta typically is. It worked on a plate with a fork so it was far from failure and I wouldn't have been ashamed to serve them.

BUT I think I should have been less OCD about the mushroom mix being in the middle...it ended up showing on the sides any way. So, in the future, I will try one of two things in the molding process to make it just a tiny bit better:

1. Still use the muffin cups, but don't worry with the "well" and definitely dont let it cool before topping it off. Put some polenta in the bottom, toss in the filling - trying to concentrate it in the middle but not getting crazy about it - , put some polenta on the top. Then put in the refrigerator and follow the rest of the process above

OR

2. Put half the polenta as a bottom layer in a 9x9 baking dish, put the mushroom/onion mix in a layer and then do a second layer of polenta on the top. Let refrigerate, then cut into squares before broiling

And I would totally make gravy.