Polenta with mushroom cream and bacon. A typical winter dish from the northern regions of Italy and beyond.
In fact, this dish has very ancient roots, it is an archaic dish, one of the first cooked doughs of humanity.
It was certainly in use among the Sumerians and in Mesopotamia where it was prepared with millet and rye.
The most common today is made with coarse cornmeal (or buckwheat) and has a compact, yellow appearance.
Today I present it to you with a creamy mushroom sauce, enriched with cubes of bacon, which you can replace with chunks of sausage if you wish.
I thought of these recipes for you:
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Slow heat
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter, Spring, Autumn, Winter and Spring
- Energy 492.64 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 14.60 (g) of which sugars 1.98 (g)
- Proteins 23.01 (g)
- Fat 38.50 (g) of which saturated 16.92 (g)of which unsaturated 14.52 (g)
- Fibers 1.28 (g)
- Sodium 1,434.23 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 500 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
For the polenta
- 1 qt water
- 1 1/4 cups instant polenta
- 3 1/2 tbsp butter
- to taste salt
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 sprigs parsley
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 10 1/2 oz mushrooms (porcini or to taste)
- 5 oz smoked bacon (or crumbled sausage)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 9 oz ricotta (or cooking cream)
- 1 tsp salt (level)
- 2 pinches pepper
Tools
Here’s what we need to prepare the
- Pot
- Wooden Spoon
- Pan
- 4 Cutting Boards or one large one
- Whisk
Preparation: Polenta with Mushroom Cream and Bacon
Put 1 quart of water in the pot with a level teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil.
When the water boils, remove the pot from the heat and sprinkle in the instant polenta while whisking quickly to prevent lumps.
Put the pot back on the heat and cook the polenta for about 8 minutes over low heat.
Turn off the heat, add the butter and stir so it melts with the heat.
Since it’s instant polenta, it initially seems a bit more liquid, so it’s best to wait a few minutes in the pot while you prepare the porcini mushroom and bacon sauce.
Clean all the porcini mushrooms by removing excess soil with a knife or a clean, dry cloth without rinsing them under water.
Alternatively, you can use whatever mushrooms you find or, if using frozen mushrooms, you don’t need to thaw them; you can use them as is.
If you opt for dried mushrooms, use at least 80 g and soak them before putting the polenta on the heat.
Slice the mushrooms, put 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and a chopped garlic clove in a non-stick pan, and let them flavor for 2 minutes.
Add the cubed bacon, and let it brown for 1 minute, then add the porcini mushrooms, cook on high heat for 5 minutes, then salt, lower the heat, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
Add the cornstarch diluted in a small cup of water, the ricotta or cream.
Click here to see how I make ricotta
Put it on the heat and stir until you get a thick and creamy sauce.
Once the mushrooms are cooked, turn off the heat, add the chopped parsley and stir.
Serve with the mushroom and bacon sauce on a wooden cutting board.
Here’s the Polenta with Mushroom Cream and Bacon ready
Tognana Stone&Wood Set 3 Pans, Aluminum
I find them very good and ideal for this sauce.
Storage and Tips
Polenta with mushroom cream and bacon can be stored separately from the sauce, for up to 3 days in the fridge. Then, slice it and fry or heat in the oven, adding the sauce on top.
