Thyme & garlic herbed mushrooms on baked rosemary ricotta polenta chips – brown, crisp edges and gooey centre. Finished with a poached egg & parmesan. Jump to Recipe
The autumn-to-winter seasonal viruses have hit. Snuffly noses and coughs are everywhere. It must be that initial cold snap – our immune systems freak, not used to the chill and damp and increased volume of infective organisms in the air. Whatever the reason, it is going around. I’m just getting over my personal infection – grown at home over Easter (maybe incubated on that plane trip, who knows) and taken hold with jetlag and lack of sleep, leaving me with that scratchy throat, stuffy nose, watery eyes feeling. Gross. But thanks to that virus, I haven’t been up to much lately and this post will be short. My bed is calling, with its cozy fluffed up duvet and multiple pillows. In the meantime, whether you have cold like me, or are enduring cold Melbourne days, or even a colder spring day in the Northern Hemisphere – you need to try this polenta.
I can’t believe it has taken me 19 years to appreciate polenta. Actually, make that 19 years to have TRIED polenta. We didn’t use it at home, it seems relatively underrepresented on cafe and restaurant menus, and I guess I just passed it off as a mushy, porridge-like substance not worthy of further investigation. In the last few months, polenta chips started appearing everywhere (or maybe I only just started noticing them, I don’t know). Ottolenghi even included a recipe in Nopi – and surely the ultimate springboard into fame for any maligned vegetable or food product is to be featured in one of his cookbooks.
On its own, polenta is plain. But flavoured with garlic and rosemary, lightened with ricotta and a touch of parmesan, and baked up with brown, crunchy edges and a gooey centre? You won’t look back, and you might find regular potato chips fall by the wayside. The ways you can used them is countless – to dip in tomato soup like Nora, on the side of any meal, as a substitute for potato with fish and chips, with eggs – whatever you like.
This must be my favourite, though. Those crispy, light, slightly cheesy and garlicky chips from before? Paired with unami-rich mushrooms, sautéed over a hot flame for brown, caramelized patches, flavour intensified by fresh thyme leaves, garlic and butter, they reach a new level. Watercress for a sharp peppery contrast and vibrant green hue, and a gooey poached egg to finish it off, the viscous orange yolk tracking down through the mushrooms. A sprinkle of parmesan and a liberal grind of salt and pepper at the table.
P.S. The secret to those perfect poachies? White vinegar. Not salt, or egg rings or cracking it into a cup first or swirling the water or special pans or gladwrap or whatever other tricks are out there. Simply –
- Use a tall pot (so the egg has some depth to fall through and form a ball, rather than going splat on the bottom of a shallow pan). Mine has an 18cm diameter and is about 12cm deep).
- Add a decent splash of white vinegar (I probably use about 1/4 cup, but it depends how big your pot is)
- Bring the water to a gentle rolling boil. A hard boil will destroy your gentle egg whites, while if it isn’t at the boil the egg white won’t cook quickly enough. Just enough so bubbles roll on the bottom of the pot, ready to buoy your egg on the bottom.
- Crack your eggs into the pot gently, close to the surface of the water.
- I like my eggs somewhere between 2 minutes and 2:20. During this time, keep a close eye on your pot so it doesn’t reach a hard boil, froth up, and obliterate your perfect egg white.
- Lift your eggs out with a slotted spoon or spatula. Done!
What is your favourite way to use polenta? I have a bag sitting the cupboard now and need more ideas!
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup (125ml) milk
- 1 clove of garlic , minced
- 1 cup (160g) instant polenta
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 100 g (1/2 cup) ricotta
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- large pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or chopped up rosemary leaves
- salt to season
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 600 g mixed mushrooms , chopped
- generous seasoning with salt and pepper
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- a handful of watercress leaves
- poached eggs
- white vinegar
- extra grated parmesan , to serve
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Line a 20 x 20cm baking tin with baking paper.
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In a large pot, combine the water, milk and garlic and bring to the boil.
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Put the butter, ricotta, parmesan and salt in a small bowl and set aside
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Add the polenta to the milk mixture, stirring constantly, until thickened (about 2-3 minutes) and it pulls away from the side of the pan.
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Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, ricotta, parmesan and salt until the butter has melted through and the ricotta is evenly distributed through the polenta. It doesn’t need to be fully mixed though - a few little white ricotta bits are good!
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Press the mixture evenly into the lined baking tin. Sprinkle with the rosemary and give them a good grind of salt, pressing it gently into the surface with your hands.
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Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge until set (30min to an hour) or overnight.
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Preheat the oven to 220°C. Once set, cut the polenta into 1 cm wide rectangles. Line a oven tray with baking paper and brush it with olive oil. Transfer the polenta chips one by one onto the tray, brushing the top and sides of each with a bit of oil.
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Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and crisp on the edges.
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Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large pan on medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5-7 minutes without moving them, until they develop large caramel-brown spots on the sides. (once you start moving mushrooms the liquid tends to leak out, so resist the urge to start turning them!)
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Add a generous grind of salt and pepper, the minced garlic, thyme and butter. Turn and sautee for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Stir through the water cress for another minute.
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Meanwhile, make the poached eggs (recipe below)
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Serve the hot polenta chips with mushrooms and a poached egg on top. Sprinkle with extra parmesan.
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Bring a high pot of water to a boil. Add a splash of white vinegar adn bring back to a slow rolling boil (just so you can see bubbles coming up off the bottom - these will prevent the eggs from sticking to the bottom of the pot)
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Gently crack in the eggs (1-2 per person) and cook for 2 minutes - 2 minutes 30, watching carefully and adjusting the heat so it doesn’t boil too hard (and destroy your eggs in the process!)
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Remove from the water with a slotted spoon.
Yes! This recipe is exactly what I need. There are two tubes of polenta sitting in my cupboard, and I have no idea what to do with them, until now.
Perfect timing then!! Would love to know what you think if you give it a try 🙂
Thanks Nicole!
I am just in shock why it is so cold over here. I’m in New York and I thought they said it was spring already. And Im in my ankle length winter coat braving the icy 25 mph winds! I guess it’s just cold everywhere in the world today. And you know what I can totally top your 19 cause its taken me 25 years to appreciate polenta! It’s on my list of things to make, but of course it still seems intimidating to me. You make it look so easy here! Definitely pinning this for later! These chips look so crispy and those mushrooms sound delicious as well!
I’ve heard from friends that New York is freezing at the moment! Crazy. Definitely have a go with polenta – I think polenta chips are a bit more managable than trying to make wet polenta so probably a good place to start. Thanks so much Linda!
Those polenta chippies look incredible! And look at that perfect poachie. I love meals like this! I haven’t used polenta in too long so I need to rectify that. Sorry to hear that you are sick! I feel like I’m just managing to keep something at bay at the moment.. really hope I can bat it off because I really don’t want to get sick. Rest up! x
Thanks so much Hannah! Hope that cold didn’t catch up with you… Mine seems to have left, thank goodness! xx
Gorgeous photos, beautiful recipe! Sorry for your cold, hope you’re feeling better. I’m in Rome, and here it’s already too warm, it seemed like we had spring for winter and now instead of spring is already summer. Love ricotta polenta chips and love sauteed mushrooms! Going to make this one 🙂 .
Wow, Rome must be amazing! It’s somewhere very much on my list of places to travel to in the next few years. Thanks Nicoletta, would love to know what you think if you give it a go 🙂
My stomach is literally rumbling so hard right now. I love love love this combination! And your photos…. just WOW. (p.s. I hope you feel better soon! take a break and get some rest!)
Thanks Sarah! Way too kind, hope you get a chance to give it a try! x
Ooo you come up with the prettiest savory dishes. I’m not a huge polenta fan due to a previous scarring experience at a restaurant but I would definitely give it another try for these – you totally sell them with both words and photos. Hope all is well friend!!
I have heard polenta (especially when wet) is very easy to get wrong..the balance between creamy and stodgy is tricky. The good thing about polenta chips is that you don’t need to worry about that – you just pop them in the oven! Thanks Erica, hope your week is going well too x
Wow, this dish looks amazing Claudia, and it looks like one of those meals that would be equally delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Hurrah! I’m so sorry to hear you are sick, though. I hope you rest up and recover quickly! 🙂 There is definitely something going around at the moment- so many people at my work have been sick over the last few weeks! Sending you healthy healing vibes x
It so is! We had it for lunch, but would be perfect for breakfast or dinner too. Thanks so much Lisa – I’m feeling much better now luckily 🙂 x
That egg! Those fries! (Sorry…chips!) Those FREAKING MUSHROOMS. This is hands down one of the most appealing things I’ve seen in a looooong time. Definitely going on my to-make list just as soon as dairy is back on the table! <3
hahaha we call them chips here in Australia and NZ! Chips to you guys are just the potato crisps from packet, right? We call those chips too, just to make it reeeaally confusing. Thanks so much Em, would love to know what you think if you give it a go! x
Omggg what a gorgeous dish!! I’ve never had polenta chips before but I think it’s prime time to try them -especially with herbed mushrooms! It must be heavenly!
Thanks Anne! Definitely give polenta chips a chance – the ricotta and rosemary really give them a kick as well 🙂
These look SO SO GOOD! The poached eggs with the mushrooms and rosemary and the crispiness of the fries are PERFECT together!
Thanks Cassie!! xx
Wow! This one of the happiest looking plates of food I’ve ever seen. Poached eggs + mushrooms + rosemary is a great combo. These look just so delicious!
haha it SO is a happy plate of food, such a perfect way of describing it Anu! Thank you! x
Love the pictures of those mushrooms! I tried polenta once at a restaurant and it made me gag so I have yet to try it again, even though that was when I was young and my taste buds have changed so much. I know I should give it another try, especially since I always seem to love what polenta is served with, and this recipe sounds delicious!
ugh I’m sure polenta can be made to taste veerrryy bad when not done right – gluey, gluggy and stodgy! Making crispy chips tends to avoid that problem though, so give them a try! x
This looks delicious – poached eggs and mushrooms go so well together! I like using polenta as a crust for chicken or fish – adding spices like sumac and cumin to give the polenta a kick.
Such a good idea! That will be my next polenta mission – using it as a crispy sumac crust on a middle-eastern chicken dish… thanks Krys!
Yum!!!! I am definitely trying this for breakfast one day. Thanks for including the poached eggs tip – I suck at poaching eggs. 🙂 Always over cooked! In the meantime, I shall go back to perving on your beautiful photos. Hope you are feeling better. xx
YES do, would love to know what you think! And you can master poached eggs – 2min-2min 20sec tops if you are worried about overcooking them. Thanks so much Lynette! x
Wow this dish looks so beautiful Claudia, I love the food styling! The polenta chips sound soooo delicious! This is such an amazing vegetarian dish! Yum!
Thanks Harriet – I have been cooking way more vegetarian meals this year, and poached eggs and hummus are my go-to protein sources! x
This dish is right up my alley Claudia! Polenta, mushrooms, rosemary…perfect!
Thanks Mary Ann! x
This recipe looks so inviting and divine. I am a magnificently huge mushroom fan so would definitely be trying this!
So perfect if you love mushrooms! I made just the mushrooms with poached eggs and toast the other day too when I didn’t have time for the polenta chips, which was almost as good 🙂
Looks and sounds wonderful. Love the images.
Thanks Emma!
This looks absolutely stunning! Your photography and styling are incredible, I am totally in love now 🙂
Plus the idea of polenta chips is so simple yet delicious, have to try it! Pinned!
Thanks so much Evi!! It is definitely a work in progress but I love the photography process now which makes it much more fun – I just have to do it fast so I can eat it sooner! X
Claudia, I know you are in med school and all but I think you NEED to open a cafe. I want to go there and order this meal! It looks absolutely sensational!!!
hahaha thanks Jess! A cafe is an eventual life goal (I wish…maybe..) but it will have a wait a few more years!! You are way too kind! Xx
I have just discovered your blog and i am so impressed – the photography and recipes are beautiful. I love polenta and I make something with similar flavours to this dish – wet polenta (cooked with half milk half water) with thyme, parmesan and butter served with a mushroom ragu (a mix of as many different mushrooms as you can find, rehydrated dried mushrooms, stock, butter and herbs). Super warming on a cold day! Or sometimes i have the same polenta with osso bucco or roast pork with lots of herbs.
Look forward to reading what you come up with next! x
Thanks so much Carmen, that really means a lot to hear! and YUM I’ve wanted to make wet/creamy polenta for a while, and a mushroom ragu sounds like a gorgeous way of topping them. Ooh and osso bucco too..will have to give that a go while winter is still sticking around here in Melbourne. Thank so much for stopping by and hope you are having a lovely week!