Recipe Blue cheese polenta with mushrooms, shallots and sultanas

Morning Glory

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Adding a few raisins or sultanas to porcini mushrooms, when hydrating them, adds a sweet intriguing flavour. You could use any blue cheese for the polenta. Stilton would pair well with the port wine sauce, although I think a mild creamy blue such as Dolcelatte (which is what I used) works very well too.

74822


Ingredients (serves 2)
For the sauce:

15g butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
A few sprigs of thyme
150ml port wine
75ml of soaking water from the porcini mushrooms
Salt, to taste

For the shallots and mushrooms:
10g dried porcini mushrooms
1 teaspoon of raisins or sultanas
20g butter
2 tsp vegetable oil
3 banana shallots (peeled and cut in half lengthways)
6 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
Your choice of fresh mushrooms (I used 6 chestnut and 6 baby king oyster)
Salt, to taste

For the polenta:
100g quick cook polenta
300ml water
300ml semi skimmed milk
75g blue cheese (add more of you wish, to taste)

To garnish
6 fresh sage leaves
Oil to shallow fry

Method
Start by making the sauce as it takes a while to reduce and can easily be made ahead and reheated. Unless using non quick cook polenta, cook the shallots and mushrooms next. Keep them warm whilst making the polenta. If you are using non quick cook polenta I'd suggest making it ahead of time and re-heating.

To make the sauce:
  1. Place the dried porcini mushrooms and raisins/sultanas in a small bowl. Pour 100ml of boiling water over them and leave to soak for at least 10 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid. Rinse the mushrooms and raisins/sultanas to remove any trapped grit and set them aside.
  2. Use a fine sieve to strain the reserved soaking liquid. This is important as it often contains fine grit.
  3. Heat a pan with the butter and add the chopped shallot, thyme leaves and a pinch of salt. Cook gently for 5 minutes or until the shallot is soft.
  4. Add the port wine, turn up the heat and simmer until reduced by half. Add 75 ml of the porcini soaking liquid, and reduce everything by half again. Strain the sauce before serving.
For the shallots and mushrooms:
  1. Fry the shallot halves and garlic cloves in the butter and oil until softened. Cook gently until the shallot is slightly caramelised
  2. Slice the fresh mushrooms fairly thickly. Add the fresh mushrooms, the reserved porcini mushrooms and raisins/sultanas to the pan.
  3. Cook gently until the mushrooms are tender. Add a little more butter if necessary. Cover the pan and keep it warm whilst you cook the polenta.
For the polenta:
  1. Bring the water and milk to the boil and and gradually add the polenta, stirring as you go.
  2. If using quick cook polenta, cook over a low heat for 5 mins until smooth, stirring constantly. If using traditional polenta this stage may take up to 50 minutes and is best done ahead of time.
  3. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts.
To serve
Shallow fry the sage leaves until crispy but still retaining their colour. Reheat the sauce. Place the polenta into serving bowls and top with shallots, mushrooms and sage leaves.

74823
 
I actually have some home-made cashew nut blue cheese that might just work with this recipe. the European cultured vegan soya butter I have is great with mushrooms and soya milk always switches out with cows milk, so I reckon I could actually make a vegan version of this dish! can't wait to try it on a couple of weeks when the blue cheese has finished maturing.
 
I actually have some home-made cashew nut blue cheese that might just work with this recipe. the European cultured vegan soya butter I have is great with mushrooms and soya milk always switches out with cows milk, so I reckon I could actually make a vegan version of this dish! can't wait to try it on a couple of weeks when the blue cheese has finished maturing.

You know, I was thinking about how to make this dish vegan and remembered your vegan blue cheese. Obviously I've never tried cooking with it but my experience with vegan cheese is that it doesn't melt very well. Would your cheese melt down in the polenta?
 
You know, I was thinking about how to make this dish vegan and remembered your vegan blue cheese. Obviously I've never tried cooking with it but my experience with vegan cheese is that it doesn't melt very well. Would your cheese melt down in the polenta?
it's not a melt as such, more it will dissolve. the cheese is made from totally smooth puree of cashew nuts, coconut cream and coconut oil. so it doesn't melt but soften. it does dissolve, either partially or totally if wanted, so I reckon it should work.

most vegan blue cheese has to have a higher oil content because otherwise the mold (penecillium roquefort) can't grow. it doesn't do that stringy melt though.

but I reckon small lumps in the polenta of blue cheese that has softened would actually be ok.
 
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