Best Porcini Matzo Polenta Wedges Recipes

BRAISED VEAL WITH GREMOLATA

Steps:

• Pour boiling water over porcini in a bowl and let stand until softened, 10 to 20 minutes. Lift out porcini, squeezing excess liquid back into bowl, and rinse to remove any grit. Pour soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into another bowl. Chop porcini and reserve for polenta.
• Pat veal dry and cut 20 (1 1/2-inch-deep) slits all over with a thin-bladed knife. Stuff each slit with a slice of garlic, then season veal with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown veal on all sides, about 10 minutes. Add wine and deglaze pot by boiling over high heat (keep veal in pot), stirring and scraping up brown bits, until wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in porcini-soaking liquid and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently, covered, turning veal every 30 minutes, until meat is tender, about 2 hours. Transfer veal to a cutting board and cool completely.
• Skim any fat and froth from surface of pan juices, then boil until reduced to about 2 cups. Pour through a very fine sieve into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir dissolved potato starch, then whisk into pan juices. Simmer sauce until slightly thickened.
• Make gremolata:
• Stir together gremolata ingredients.
• Stir half of gremolata into sauce and season with salt and pepper. Chill remaining gremolata, covered.
• Heat and serve veal:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Remove strings from veal and cut meat across the grain into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Overlap slices in a 13- by 9-inch ceramic or glass baking dish and pour sauce over meat. Cover dish with foil and heat in middle of oven 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle with remaining gremolata.

POLENTA AI FUNGHI PORCINI

Steps:

• Bring the water and salt to a boil in a large heavy stockpot. Let it boil for 2 minutes, then remove the pot from heat and add polenta flour by the handful, beating constantly. Continue to add the flour slowly, controlling the flow to a thin stream through your fingers to avoid lumps. Return the pot to the stove and bring to low simmer. Continue cooking for about 40 minutes, stirring constantly. Polenta will be done when it cleanly pulls away from the sides of the pot. Stir in the butter, heavy cream and cheese. Once combined, carefully pour the polenta onto a large sheet pan (12 by 18-inch). Spread it out evenly and let it cool completely until firm to the touch, about 1 1/2 hours.
• In a large saute pan over high heat, add the butter, chopped garlic, porcini mushrooms, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook without stirring until the water from the mushrooms has been released and has evaporated. Add the Marsala wine, and parsley and begin stirring with a wooden spoon. Once the ingredients are incorporated, add the cream, reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until the cream is reduced by half and has a thick consistency. Remove from the heat and keep covered. Set aside.
• Heat the canola oil over high heat in a large deep pot or a deep-fryer. Meanwhile, slice the cooled polenta into desired size and shape. Once the oil has reached frying temperature, add the polenta, in batches, and deep-fry until golden brown.
• Arrange the polenta on serving plates and spoon the desired amount of sauce over the top. Garnish with the shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve immediately.

GORGONZOLA POLENTA WITH FRESH PORCINI

Steps:

• In a skillet heat butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and brown mushrooms with salt to taste, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add water and simmer, covered, 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Remove lid and simmer mixture 3 minutes, or until liquid reduces slightly. Stir in parsley and lemon juice and keep warm.
• Stir 1/2 cup Gorgonzola into warm polenta until smooth. Divide polenta among 4 plates and spoon mushroom mixture on top. Tear remaining Gorgonzola into small pieces and sprinkle over each serving.
• Garnish polenta with parsley.
• In a heavy saucepan bring water and salt to a boil and gradually whisk in cornmeal in a thin stream. Cook polenta over moderately low heat (it should be barely boiling), stirring constantly, until very thick and pulls away from side of pan, about 40 minutes for cornmeal and about 15 minutes for instant polenta. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm. Stir polenta just before using. Polenta will keep warm, covered, about 20 minutes. Makes about 3 cups.
• Note: In the traditional method of cooking polenta, forty minutes of constant stirring is required to achieve a lumpless texture and fragrant flavor. However, Italian-food expert Marcella Hazan has developed a method that involves very little stirring during this time. We believe it produces a very good polenta, one nearly as flavorful and smooth as the traditional procedure. To make satisfactory polenta in a real hurry, an imported instant polenta (precooked cornmeal) is available. This cooks in a mere fifteen minutes.

WILD MUSHROOM POLENTA WITH PORCINI SAUCE

Steps:

• Prep the porcini:
• In a small bowl, combine porcini mushrooms and 1 cup warm water. Let stand until mushrooms soften, about 30 minutes. Remove porcini mushrooms from the liquid, strain and reserve liquid. Finely chop the mushrooms and set aside.
• Roast the mushrooms:
• While the porcini are soaking, set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat oven to 450°F. On two rimmed baking sheets, gently toss mushrooms with thyme and oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast mushrooms until edges are browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté shallot until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add white wine and bay leaf and increase heat; boil until most liquid evaporates, about 7 minutes. Add reserved chopped porcini mushrooms, vegetable stock, and reserved mushroom liquid. Boil until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
• In a small bowl, stir butter and flour together until it forms a paste. Whisk the butter mixture into the mushroom sauce. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
• Make the polenta:
• In a large saucepan, bring 6 cups water and the salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk in the polenta, whisking constantly to make sure there are no lumps. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until thickened and cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in the cheese,and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Serve polenta immediately topped with porcini sauce and roasted mushrooms.

POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Put the dried mushrooms in a medium bowl and pour in the boiling water. Press them down into the water now and then until they are soft, anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes depending on how dry they were. When it's time to cook them, lift them out of the water with your hands or a slotted spoon and chop them roughly. Reserve the soaking water.
• Put the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it's hot, add the soaked dried and fresh mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and have released all their liquid. 10 to 15 minutes.
• Add the wine and let it bubble away for 1 minute, then stir in the garlic, 1/4 cup of the parsley, and 1 cup of the reserved soaking water. Cook until the liquid thickens a bit, another 2 or 3 minutes, then taste, adjust the seasoning, and turn off the heat under the skillet.
• Put the polenta in a medium pot with 1 cup water and whisk to form a smooth slurry. Whisk in the milk and a pinch of salt and set the pot over medium-high heat. Heat until the mixture boils then lower the heat to medium and cook, whisking frequently adding more water a little at a time to prevent lumps and keep the mixture somewhat soupy. Expect to add another 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups of water before the polenta is ready. The polenta will be done in 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the grind. It will be thick and creamy, with just a little grittiness, and the mixture will pull away from the sides of the pan when you stir. When the polenta is done, turn the heat under the mushrooms to medium to warm them quickly.
• Stir the butter and cheese into the polenta then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the polenta topped with the mushrooms and garnished with the remaining 1/4 cup parsley.
• Cooks' Notes
• Soaking Dried Mushrooms: The time needed to soften mushrooms depends on their size and age. They're ready when you can cut one easily with a paring knife. You want to reserve the soaking liquid but leave the grit behind, so lift out the mushrooms rather than pouring to drain them.
• Making The Sauce: When the mushrooms are tender and the wine has bubbled away, stir in the garlic, parsley, and soaking water.
• Making Polenta by the Slurry Method: When the slurry just starts to boil, turn it down a bit so it bubbles gently. Add more water or stir with a wooden spoon.
• Recognizing Doneness: When the polenta starts to pull away from the pan and is no longer gritty, it's time to stir in the butter and Parmesan.