5-Minute Homemade Polenta with Amazing Sauteed Mushrooms

One of my favorite things in the world is eating corn—preferably of the sweet Gili variety, and preferably with lots of salt (I know, it’s not healthy, but I can’t resist it here).

My mom says that while she was pregnant with me she ate corn the entire time, and even the day I was born, on the way to the hospital, she stopped at a roadside stand, bought corn, and happily ate it.

Add my Romanian genes to that fact, and you have the real reason behind my deep love for polenta—Romanian mămăligă’s twin sister, which my grandmother used to make for me when I was a child.

I hadn’t done homemade polenta in years, and every time I came across it on a restaurant menu, I wondered how it was possible that I still hadn’t made my own version.

So here it is—this time it finally happened.

Yes, the fancy original version (which is absolutely delicious, I should add) mainly uses fresh corn kernels, but honestly, who has the time or energy for that? And believe me, this version is no less delicious. The combination of textures—of the soft polenta with the crunchy corn kernels—works beautifully here.

This time I paired my homemade polenta with saucy mushrooms. This is my regular at home, and it is perfect here but also served with mashed potatoes, white rice, or even as a quick pasta sauce without a drop of cream.

The thickness of the sauce and the unique flavor (because the sauce is prepared very quickly and doesn’t have time—or I don’t have time—to develop deep flavors) come from mushroom soup powder that contains no MSG or preservatives.

Wait, what are you still doing here? Too bad, because this dish could be on your table in 10 minutes 🙂

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5-Minute Homemade Polenta with Amazing Sauteed Mushrooms

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Serves: 4-6 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes 10 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

For the Mushrooms:

• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 1 white onion, peeled
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled — optional
• 1 package (about 8 oz) button mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons mushroom soup powder
• ¾ cup boiling water
• Leaves from 2 thyme sprigs
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the Polenta:

• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
• ½ cup corn kernels (from canned corn, frozen corn, or fresh corn)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1 cup (about 150g) cornmeal for polenta
• 1 container (250 ml) heavy cream, coconut cream, or additional boiling water

Instructions

- Slice the onion into thin strips and quarter the mushrooms. If using garlic, slice it thinly.
- Heat butter or olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onion until golden.
- Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes. Add the garlic at this stage if using.
- Add mushroom soup powder, water, thyme, and black pepper. Continue cooking over high heat, stirring, until the sauce thickens. This takes about 5 minutes.
- For the polenta: In a wide pot, heat the olive oil or butter and sauté the corn kernels for 1 minute.
- Add water, salt, and cream. Bring to a gentle boil.
- Add the cornmeal, and from this point stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the polenta thickens and reaches the consistency of tahini. Keep in mind that it continues to set as it cools, so it’s better for it to be slightly softer. Cooking the polenta takes about 5 minutes.
- Serve: place polenta in a bowl and top with mushroom stew. If desired, grate Parmesan cheese on top.

Both the polenta and the mushrooms are amazing on their own and don't need to be served together.

Notes

- Instead of using hot water in the polenta, you can use vegetable stock—it will be wonderful.
- To enrich the flavor, add about 1.8 oz butter to the boiling water and wait for it to melt before adding the cornmeal.
- Polenta loves salt, so taste and make sure it has enough seasoning.
- The mushrooms, on the other hand, love mostly black or white pepper.