Thyme Polenta With Wild Mushrooms

The last suitcase is unpacked, winter cloth are stored and we are enjoying the warm summer climate in Lima.

Sunrise at Schipol Airport, Netherlands where we caught our flight to Lima

Despite of that , I still feel a bit as if my soul has not arrived yet, I suppose that this takes longer than a plane trip lasts.
The first excursion to the beach was fantastic but also literally painful as we underestimated how powerful the ultra violet sunrays can be, even with a clouded sky.

 View over the Yacht port in Lima

Enjoying Sunday at a popular beach

Anyhow now I'm sporting a new sleeping posture: prone position :)
As we had to upgrade our fridge content after a long absence( apart from a forgotten strawberry jam there was nothing else left), the dried Funghi Porcini that you can see in the picture caught my eye at the Super Market.
Since we all at home love Polenta, I though they would pair well.
And they did. The flavorful wild mushroom mix, together with the mild thyme aroma of the Polenta were a match  made in heaven and the only problem was: it all disappeared too quickly once served at the table.
You need:

For the polenta:

2 1/2 cups of vegetable broth (If you want to enhance the mushroom flavor replace 1/2 cup of broth with the water you soaked the dried Funghi Porcini in)

2 cups of milk

1 cup of

1 tblspoon butter

2 teaspoon of tried thyme

Salt to season

For the Mushroom stew:

2 tblspoon of oilve oil

1 tblspoon butter
80g of dried Funghi Porccini (can be replaced by 200g of fresh mushrooms like Portabello, Shitake etc.)

200g of fresh mushrooms (champignons),washed and diced

3 tomatoes. chopped

2 cloves of fresh, crushed garlic

1/2 cup of grated Grana Padano or Parmesano reggiano 

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 teaspoon of chopped ,flat parsley.

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:

Rinse the dried Funghi under running water to eliminate impurities.

Soak them in 1/2l warm water for about 30 minutes.

Drain the funghis and save the soaking water, squeeze them to  eliminate excess liquid and chop them roughly.

Rinse and dice the fresh mushrooms.

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil together with the butter,

 Add crushed garlic and cook until soft, be careful not to brown the garlic.

Then add chopped tomatoes, fresh mushrooms and the Funghi Porcini.

Stir carefuly and cook about 5 to 8 minutes or until fresh mushrooms are soft.

Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and lemon juice.

Sprinkle with chopped flat parsley.

Polenta:

In a large pot, bring the vegetable broth together with  milk,  thyme and butter to a boil.

Remove the pot from heat and whisk in cornmeal in a regular flow.

Continue to whisk until water comes to a boil again.

Lower the heat to low and continue to cook stirring constantly until Polenta is thickened and creamy or cook according to packet instructions.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese.

Season with salt if necessary.

You may wish to add a bit of fresh cream to this recipe. It gives extra taste and creaminess but makes the recipe also richer in calories. Up to you :))

Top Polenta with the mushroom mixture and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Serves about 4.

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