Mushroom Ragu with Cheesy Polenta
Assorted mushrooms cooked down with marsala wine served on top of rich and creamy cheesy polenta makes for a great weeknight meal.
My son is a few months shy of his third birthday and has just starting acting so… weird. He’s still fun and he’s still adorable, but now he’s got all these little mannerisms that are quite bizarre.
He’s currently obsessed with his tongue. It’s always hanging out of his mouth, like he’s showing it off, and I cannot get him to stop licking everything (ew). He’s also started talking in gibberish all the time, even though his vocabulary and knowledge of sentence structure are pretty solid at this point.
I’m confident things like these are just phases that will pass (quickly, hopefully!) and I’m trying to just enjoy the ride, icky licking and all.
But one other current phase that I hope never passes is his love of grown-up veggies. He won’t eat peas or cooked carrots, but the kid cannot get enough brussels sprouts, asparagus, and mushrooms. Not usual, right?
I don’t think I liked mushrooms until I was in my twenties, but John will eat as many as I put in front of him. I’m hoping I never see the day when he changes his mind and pushes them away.
The other night when we sat down to dinner as a family to eat this mushroom ragu with cheesy polenta, I wasn’t sure if John would be interested. He wasn’t a big fan of the polenta, but true to form he enthusiastically gobbled down the mushrooms.
And my husband and I did too! These mushrooms are full of so much wonderful flavor, having been cooked down on the stove top with onions, garlic, marsala wine and chicken stock. Use an assortment of mushrooms for the maximum flavor— like shiitake, oyster, portobello, and crimini.
Serve this mushroom ragu alongside chicken or steak, or scoop it on top of pasta. This time we served it with creamy polenta and I loved the combination. This polenta recipe uses ricotta and parmesan cheese, but you can really use any type of easily-melted cheese.
Mushroom Ragu with Cheesy Polenta
Ingredients
For the mushrooms:
- ¼ cup olive oil (60 ml)
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic , minced
- 1 lb mushrooms (455 grams)
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt , plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup marsala wine (237 ml)
- 2 cup chicken or vegetable stock (475 ml)
- ⅓ cup fresh chopped basil (15 grams)
- Grated parmesan , for serving
For the polenta:
- 3 cups water (700 ml)
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- ¾ cup uncooked polenta or yellow cornmeal (106 grams)
- ½ cup heavy cream (118 ml)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese , at room temperature (8 oz, 226 grams)
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese (50 grams)
- ¼ cup butter (56 grams)
Instructions
For the mushrooms:
- Pour the olive oil into a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook mushrooms until they have released their moisture and it has evaporated, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add the marsala wine and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken or vegetable stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has evaporated, about 15-20 minutes. Add the fresh basil and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve with polenta or as desired.
For the polenta:
- While the mushrooms are cooking, prepare the polenta. Bring the water to a boil and add the salt. Slowly add the cornmeal/polenta to the boiling water while whisking constantly. Stir in the heavy cream. Return to a boil and then simmer until polenta is softened, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the ricotta cheese, parmesan and butter. Adjust seasoning if necessary and serve immediately. Polenta will solidify as it cools, rewarm to make soft again.
Notes
Mushroom Ragu with Cheesy Polenta sounds amazing! Your son’s tongue phase is hilarious and relatable – toddlers are wild! They’re so innocent exploring everything.
Your mushroom ragu sounds delicious, and the toddler phase is so real – mine had some wild quirks too! It’s amazing how much we juggle.
Followed the recipe as written first time. It was delicious. Good comfort food. If you aren’t vegetarian some chopped bacon or pancetta is delicious added in at the beginning.
Great suggestion Chad, thanks!
Absolutely, I’ll be trying this out. Thanks so much! xx
What you share is very good and useful for the community, with a lot of useful information. Please continue to update. thank!
Button mushrooms are perfectly fine as long as you dry roast them first (as you should do any mushroom). To dry roast, lay sliced mushrooms in a single layer of a sauté pan – no oil or butter. Just mushrooms. Cook, without disturbing for a couple minutes over medium heat. Stir and cook for a few more minutes. Never add salt until they have been roasted as that draws all the water out and boils them. So I’m batches, if necessary. Then add the other ingredients. You allow the mushroom to develop their own flavor instead of just tasting like whatever liquid they’re cooked in.
It’s the same principle basically as browning ground beef… most people cook ground beef until the color turns brown and drain the meat, thinking that liquid is fat when in reality it’s just moisture that the meat released. You keep cooking past that point, let the water evaporate, then the fat comes out in which you now “brown” the meat in its own fat – enhancing the flavor.
Both take more time but make all the difference from having another boring meal to cooking something memorable.
We sure would love to win this one thanks for the chance and have a nice Sunday.
This was absolutely amazing! The flavor grabs you and you don’t want to stop eating it. Delicious!!!
Thanks you for the post!
the photo
I will definitely be making these, thank you xx