Mixed Mushroom Ragoût with Creamy Polenta

Another very autumnal dish here cooked, as it was, at the height of summer. Oh well. This is extremely delicious and if you were to serve it with rice or pasta then pretty quick too.

I served this with a creamy cheddar polenta that I made with 150g polenta, x4 the volume of chicken stock, 20g butter and about 60g grated mature cheddar. If you start this at the same time as leisurely prepping and then cooking the ragout it should all come together quite well about 45- 50 mins later.


Mixed Mushroom Ragoût
serves 2 generously (with perhaps a little leftover for lunch for 1 the next day)

225g mixed shiitake & brown chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean & sliced
225g mixed wild & oyster mushrooms, wiped clean & torn

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp chopped thyme leaves
small pinch cayenne pepper
splash of marsala
1½ tsp tomato paste
2 small ripe tomatoes, chopped
1½ tsp plain flour
500ml porcini or chicken stock
5g butter

2 garlic cloves, minced
1½ tbsp chopped parsley

In a wide sauté or frying pan I actually used a paella pan for some reason), warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and celery, season with a little salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened and starting to brown, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add another ½ tablespoon of the oil and turn heat to high. Add brown mushrooms, season lightly and stir-fry until nicely colored, about 3 minutes. Lower heat to medium. Add thyme, cayenne and tomato paste. Add tomatoes, stir well, and cook for 1 minute.

Season again with salt and pepper. Splash in a glug of Marsala and when it has reduced sprinkle with the flour, stir to incorporate and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in reserved onions. Add around 200ml of stock and stir until thickened, about 1 minute. Gradually another 200ml stock and let gently simmer for 5-10 minutes. Carefully adjust the seasoning.

Just before serving, put the butter and the remaining ½ tablespoon olive in a wide sauté pan over medium high heat and when the butter begins to brown, add the wild and oyster mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 2 minutes, until cooked through and beginning to brown.

Add the garlic and chopped parsley and stir for another minute before adding to the brown mushroom mixture.

Stir the mushrooms together well and then serve over polenta.

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Artichoke Chicken with Polenta

There’s a website I check out every now and then called Budget Bytes - in fact it was where I got inspiration for the “one-pot” pasta - and I saw this recipe a while ago instantly bookmarking it to adapt at some later point. Anything with artichoke hearts in it is a winner for me as I absolutely love them and this is fairly quick to chuck together of an evening and I think would probably be pretty good when cooking for friends too.

The original suggests serving with pasta but I opted to have this with polenta. My most recent batch - having scoured supermarket after supermarket for the stuff after my last lot had run out - was eventually bought at an Italian deli in Borough Market and as such it is the “proper” stuff rather than the quick variety I’d hitherto, and unknowingly I might add, used. What this means is that it is 45 minutes in the cooking. And stirring. If you don’t like cooking risotto do not under any circumstances buy proper polenta as it will drive you nuts.


Artichoke Chicken
serves 2

300g skinless chicken breast fillets, pounded flat, each breast cut into 3 pieces
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tbsp capers
small tin chopped tomatoes
½ tin artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp onion granules
1 tsp lemon zest (about ½ medium lemon)
small handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
polenta to serve

Season the chicken lightly on both sides with salt & pepper.

Heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat and when hot add the chicken pieces. Cook for about 5 mins per side until golden. Remove the chicken to a plate once browned and set aside.

Add the remaining olive oil, along with the garlic to the pan and lightly fry the garlic for 1-2 minutes until fragrant but not coloured.

Add the chopped artichoke hearts, chopped tomatoes, dried basil, lemon zest, onion granules, red pepper flakes, capers and a small pinch of salt.

Stir well and return the chicken to the pan, nestling it down into the sauce. Bring to the boil then turn down to low and let the chicken simmer for 15 minutes, flipping it once half way through.

Stir through most of the chopped parsley then serve over polenta, sprinkling the remaining parsley on top.

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Braised Celery & Tomatoes with Chickpeas & Pancetta

I first saw a variation of this recipe on a site I like to visit, as I have mentioned before, Food52. Initially thinking of serving it as a side I read through the comments where someone stated that they had served a version as a main over polenta which sounded so delicious I couldn’t resist giving it a go, adding a little heat with a smidge of paprika.

The initial recipe is apparently adapted from one in Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking and is excellent if you have a glut of celery where you can benefit from a long slow cooking that produces a creamy and sweet, although quite robust taste rather than merely using a relatively small amount of celery as the background notes of a dish, as I normally do.

Lovely and satisfying I suspect this work really well with a good glass of red but I’m currently not drinking so, oh well. By the way, if you want this veggie, simply leave out the lardons and if you want a side rather than a main then you could leave out the chickpeas.


Braised Celery and Tomato with Chickpeas & Pancetta
serves 2

300g celery stalks, trimmed and cut diagonally into 2″ lengths
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, very thinly sliced
45g lardons
80g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight & cooked according to package instructions
sml tin plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
¼ tsp paprika
1 garlic clove, crushed
salt & pepper

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 5-10 minutes until they have softened and are starting to colour and then add the lardons.

When the fat from the strips has rendered a little (about 10-15 minutes: turn the heat down if they are cooking too fast), add the garlic and paprika and stir for a minute or so until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes with their juices, chickpeas, celery, 100ml water and salt and pepper. Toss thoroughly to ensure everything is well mixed and the celery is coated.

Lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes then uncover, taste and carefully adjust the seasoning if necessary. Continue to simmer until the celery is completely tender and most of the liquid has cooked off, about another 15 minutes.

Serve over soft polenta in wide bowls.

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