Sauteed Mushroom with Cheesy Polenta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does polenta pair well with? ›

Top polenta with your favorite pasta sauce. Add sautéed greens and protein of choice including meats, cheese, lentils and legumes. Make as a breakfast cereal; add nuts, seeds, dried fruits, fresh fruit, and milk of choice. For a hearty breakfast, try Breakfast Polenta Casserole opens in a new tab.

An Italian storecupboard staple, polenta has its roots in the peasant cuisine of northern Italy. It's made by grinding corn into flour, or meal. It has a rich yellow, yolk-like colour, and has a slightly sweet flavour. Polenta can be cooked to be creamy and thick, or allowed to set and then sliced.

Try cooking polenta. You can serve this basic side dish on its own or alongside protein such as Pressure-Cooker Short Ribs, pan-seared chicken, or seafood.

This polenta recipe should yield 2.5 cups of cooked polenta, which is a generous amount for 2 adults (1 and ¼ cups per person). If you are going to serve more side dishes alongside this, then this recipe could feed 3, even 4 people.

Polenta With Parmesan and Tomato Sauce.

Polenta contains both protein and fiber to help a person feel full. Fiber is also recommended to keep the digestive system functioning properly, to feed healthy gut bacteria, and to prevent constipation.

As a soft, just-cooked porridge, polenta owns a sweet corn flavor and robust texture. It takes on the flavors of its added ingredients, which can be as simple as its traditional partners, butter and cheese. Often porridge-style polenta is served topped with sautéed seasonal vegetables, meats and seafood.

Both grits and polenta fall under the heading of cornmeal, which is essentially a coarse flour, or “meal,” made from dried corn.

Polenta is often used to substitute grains like pasta and rice, as it's lower in calories and is a source of complex carbohydrates. Because complex carbohydrates aren't broken down as quickly as simple carbohydrates, it's ideal for individuals watching their blood sugar levels.

Creamy polenta is one of the most simple side dishes that you can make. It makes a perfect side dish to compliment hearty, saucy dishes like these red wine braised short ribs, smoked beef short ribs, or this sausage ragout, because it soaks up all that delicious sauce.

How to eat polenta for dinner? ›

Polenta is high in protein and fiber, but compared to rice, pasta, or potatoes, it's much lower in calories and fat, yet still provides a source of complex carbs that are much-needed for energy. So, why not to try polenta out for your next meal?

Use flavorful liquids: Instead of just water, cook your polenta in broth, such as chicken, vegetable, or mushroom broth. This will infuse the polenta with extra flavor from the start. Add cheese: Stir in grated Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, Gruyère, or other hard cheeses towards the end of cooking.

In 100g of cooked polenta, there is approximately 13.6 grams of carbohydrates, which should help you to eat the right amount of carbs every day, which the Eatwell guide says should be about a third of our intake every day.

Polenta can be served with various toppings, like tomato meat sauce or a “white” sauce of sausage and mushrooms.

Surprisingly, polenta (which is none other than yellow cornmeal) is a powerful source of antioxidants like phenolic compounds, which can help reduce inflammation.

Cooking it in milk will produce a rich and creamy polenta that's delicious and indulgent, but also heavy; stock (vegetable or chicken) will infuse the polenta with more flavor, but that flavor can also cover up the taste of the cornmeal.