Grilled Polenta with Mushrooms

If you are a soup maker, consider saving your porcini soaking water for soups. Simply pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve or coffee filter, then place in a tightly covered container and freeze until you wish to add some full flavored woodsy goodness to a batch of beef barley soup.

Grilled Polenta with Mushrooms
Photo: Scott Little
Prep Time:
20 mins
Stand Time:
45 mins
Grill Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
20 mins
Servings:
8
Yield:
8 to 12 appetizer servings; 4 to 6 side-dish servings

Ingredients

  • 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

  • 1 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, sliced

  • 1 ⅓ cup chopped roma tomatoes (4 medium)

  • 3 tablespoon olive oil

  • 2 tablespoon dry red wine

  • 1 tablespoon snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

  • 2 teaspoon snipped fresh thyme

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 recipe Grilled Polenta

Grilled Polenta

  • 2 ½ cup water

  • 2 ½ cup milk

  • 2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning, crushed

  • 2 cup instant polenta

  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl pour enough boiling water over porcini mushrooms to cover. Let stand for 45 minutes or until soft. Drain mushrooms, discarding water. Rinse well under running water. Pat mushrooms dry with paper towels; chop coarsely. Set aside.

  2. Tear off a 44x18-inch piece of heavy-duty foil; fold in half to make a 22x18-inch rectangle. In a large bowl combine porcini mushrooms, cremini mushrooms, tomatoes, oil, wine, parsley, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper; spoon mixture into center of foil. Bring up two opposite edges of foil and seal with a double fold. Fold remaining edges together to completely enclose mushrooms, leaving space for steam to build.

  3. For a charcoal or gas grill, place foil packet on the grill rack. Cover and grill for 20 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling. Serve hot mushroom mixture over Grilled Polenta.

Grilled Polenta

  1. Grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large saucepan bring water, milk, salt, and Italian seasoning to boiling. Add polenta in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until polenta is thick. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly with a wet spatula. Cool for 15 minutes. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.

  2. Cut polenta into serving-size pieces. Brush both sides of pieces with oil. For a charcoal or gas grill, lightly grease grill rack. Place polenta on grill rack next to mushroom packet. Cover and grill directly over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until grill marks form and polenta is brown and crispy, turning once halfway through grilling.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

818 Calories
23g Fat
130g Carbs
23g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 8
Calories 818
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 23g 29%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 17mg 6%
Sodium 1619mg 70%
Total Carbohydrate 130g 47%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 23g
Vitamin C 14.2mg 71%
Calcium 302.9mg 23%
Iron 2.7mg 15%
Potassium 1059mg 23%
Folate, total 64.5mcg
Vitamin B-12 1mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.3mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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