Mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme roasted in marsala wine become the most savory-craveable topping for creamy polenta loaded with parmesan. Simple ingredients, major flavor, zero leftovers after scraping the bowl clean. I’d like to humbly say that I impressed the hell out of myself and you should too.
This is weeknight-fancy attainable – more effort than a one-dish pasta bake, still on the table in an hour without too much prep.
And and AND it just happens to be vegetarian. This could easily become vegan without parmesan by subbing coconut oil for butter, but I have a lifelong love affair with butter… it just speaks to me.
Butter + mushrooms forever!
Also red wine please.
I used plain-jane white button mushrooms because a full pound of mushrooms isn’t the cheapest. I’m jumping on the chance to make this again when I find portabellas on sale!
This recipe makes a totally reasonable portion size for three people. That doesn’t include scooping mushrooms out of buttery gravy with your fingers, sneaking spoonfuls of polenta, and definitely not going back for seconds… but I promise not to tell.
Roasted Mushrooms with Creamy Parmesan Polenta
Ingredients
Roasted Mushrooms
- 1 lb. mushrooms sliced
- 1 shallot finely diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 T. fresh thyme minced
- 1/4 cup marsala wine
- 1 T. olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 T. butter
Parmesan Polenta
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup coarse cornmeal
- 3 oz. parmesan grated
- 2 T. butter
- 1/2 t. salt more to taste
Instructions
Roasting Mushrooms
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Toss mushrooms, shallot, garlic, and thyme in a 9x13 baking dish.
- Drizzle with wine, olive oil, and salt & pepper and toss to fully coat, then spread evenly across the bottom of the dish.
- Cover tightly with foil and roast at 325° for 30 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and increase to 450°. Drain mushroom juices into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Return mushrooms to the oven for 15 minutes to finish roasting.
Cooking Polenta
- Bring water, milk, cornmeal, and a pinch of salt to a simmer in a medium pot.
- Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring frequently, until cornmeal is soft and tender.
Bringing It Together
- When cornmeal is done, remove from heat and stir in parmesan, butter, and salt. Add a little water if polenta is too thick.
- Remove the roasted mushrooms from the oven. Add remaining butter to the saucepan and stir in mushrooms to fully coat in sauce.
- Ladle parmesan polenta into bowls, top with roasted mushrooms in rich sauce, enjoy immensely.
Print Recipe
Delicious! We tried it with a combination of white and Portobello mushrooms. I liked them both. Tricky timing the polenta so it does not cool down while the mushrooms are baking.