Cauliflower Polenta with Japanese Mushrooms
This dish is great with your choice of protein, such as tofu or chicken. If the Japanese mushrooms are difficult to find, feel free to substitute them with any other mushroom variety. Adapted from Cooking Light.
Ingredients
Cauliflower Polenta
- 1 head of cauliflower*, should yield about 1 pound of florets, see note
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup (140g) fine grind cornmeal
- 4 cups (950ml) vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon porcini mushroom powder**, optional, see note
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (55g) shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Sautéed Mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 ounces (115g) shiitake mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
- 4 ounces (115g) maitake mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
- salt
Optional Toppings
- chopped chives
- red pepper flakes
- freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Cut cauliflower into florets. Working in batches, add florets into a food processor and blitz until you get fine cauliflower rice.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and let that cook for about 30 seconds to release the fragrance. Next, add the cauliflower rice and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the cornmeal and the vegetable broth and stir to mix everything together. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let everything simmer for about 20 minutes. If you find that all the liquids have evaporated before the cornmeal looks softened, add water, about 1/2 cup at a time and stir to distribute the water. Add the thyme, porcini mushroom powder, butter, cheese and salt and stir until the ingredients have melted. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid while you cook the mushrooms. The cornmeal will continue to absorb all the liquids.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a separate pan. Add sliced mushrooms and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle a small pinch of salt on top.
- Dish up cauliflower polenta into bowls and top with some mushrooms. Sprinkle some chives, red pepper flakes and ground pepper on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Makes about 4 Servings. Amount per serving: Calories: 382, Total Fat 20g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Sodium: 461mg, Cholesterol: 30mg, Total Carbohydrate: 42g, Dietary Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 4g, Protein 10g
*If you are making this recipe from a head of cauliflower (versus packaged cauliflower florets), you will want a head that is slightly over a pound. After you pick out the leaves and chop out that center core (or stem), you should get about a pound of florets.
**I wanted to give this dish more umami flavor, so I added 1/2 teaspoon of porcini mushroom powder in there. Essentially, it's dried porcini mushrooms that I ground into a powder with a coffee grinder.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @hellolisalin or leave a star rating and comment on the blog!