Wild mushroom ragout with soft black polenta

  • medium
  • 2
  • 50 minutes
Not yet rated

Francesco Mazzei's decadent wild mushroom ragout is a hearty and rich dish, with a base of creamy polenta topped with a broth of wild mushrooms and lavish shavings of spring truffle. Francesco uses corvino mais in his recipe, an ancient grain with Mayan roots, which is darker in colour than traditional polenta thus giving it the name 'black polenta'. If unavailable, standard polenta flour would work just as well.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Soft polenta

Wild mushrooms

To serve

Method

1
Begin with the soft polenta. Bring the water to a boil in a large pan and season well with salt. Mix in the polenta flour, then cover with a lid, turn the heat down low and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring every so often
2
After about 20 minutes of cooking time, place a deep frying pan over a medium heat and add a dash of olive oil. Once hot, add the mixed mushrooms, garlic and thyme to the pan and fry for a few minutes to soften
3
Season with salt and pepper, then pour in the wine and let it evaporate. Stir in the chicken stock and cook for 10 minutes
4
Finish the mushrooms by mixing in the chopped parsley and chives followed by the butter to create a creamy mixture. Keep warm while finishing the polenta
5
Once the polenta is soft and cooked through, stir through the butter and grated Grana Padano cheese until smooth and combined. Check the seasoning, adjusting to taste if required
6
To serve, spoon the polenta into deep serving bowls and top with the mushroom mixture (this will still have quite a lot of liquid). Garnish with the hazelnuts, shaved truffle and fresh chervil sprigs

Francesco Mazzei reminds us why we fell in love with Italian food in the first place, conjuring soulful dishes that put flavour first.

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