Skip to main content

A Perfect Fall Polenta

It is always gratifying when hard work from the summer pays off in a cozy fall meal. I needed something fairly quick to make this evening and when perusing the pantry and freezer came up with dried porcinis, a bag of polenta, and a package of frozen wild pork sausage from a boar my husband harvested in Hawaii last winter. The mushrooms, of course, had been lovingly gathered by all of us this past August, and dried and packaged, just waiting to re-emerge as the weather got colder. In the midst of mushroom season there always comes a point where I am surrounded by bags of Boletes, dreading the process of slicing and drying every single one of them. I have to remind myself how happy I will be in the fall or winter months when there are no fresh mushrooms to be seen and I can reach into the pantry and pull out that earthy goodness. And so it was tonight. As I opened the bag I could almost smell the mountains again, and just sat there staring at my treasure.


I re-hydrated the mushrooms in white wine, stirring them occasionally to make sure that each mushroom absorbed enough liquid. I then defrosted the sausage and decided what else I was going to throw into this dish. Typically when cooking with mushrooms I use a white or yellow onion, but I’ve been a homebody lately and not made it to the store. All I had left was a red onion which was starting to go bad. So I picked off the bad bits and figured it would have to do.  I am obsessed with garlic and so diced up five cloves to toss into this meal. If you’re not quite so afraid of vampires two or three would do just fine. I sautéed the onions and garlic in olive oil, and then added the mushrooms and a generous pinch of salt. Once the mushrooms had browned nicely I carefully poured in the wine that they have been soaking in. If you’re careful when pouring, any little bits of dirt and debris left on the dried mushrooms will settle to the bottom of the bowl and not get into your meal. This has been a wonderful blessing to have discovered, especially when processing mushrooms like chanterelles which are notoriously hard to clean. When all of the liquid had been absorbed, I added the sausage and broke it up into big bits. I let the sausage brown and now it was time to add the polenta. I decided this was the perfect time to try my new bone broth that I had made using goat bones from a goat we slaughtered for a friend recently. It was my first go at making bone broth and I think it came out pretty nicely. Unlike making stock in the crockpot, the bone broth is not liquid in the fridge but gelatinous. It has a nice mellow flavor, and I thought would go nicely with the sausage. I added 3 cups of broth to the meat and mushroom mixture, and a cup of polenta string to combine. and let it cook for about eight minutes and then turned off the heat and covered it and let it sit. When I removed the lid such yummy goodness came steaming into view! Because I’m dairy free, I served it as is, but generously mixed Parmesan into my kiddos bowls. If you have no problem with dairy, go ahead and mix the Parmesan into the whole pot. I served the polenta in big scoops over the last of my summer kale, harvested a few days ago, just before the first big frost. And the big question; how does it taste? AMAZING! Not to brag, but MAN I did good! This will definitely be served again in our house! Yum!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elk Breakfast Sausage

  I love breakfast.  I love mornings when we have time to make a big breakfast, and sit together at the table to enjoy it.  This time of year it is cold early in the morning, and I relish those days when we can wait just long enough for the sunshine to start spreading across the dining table, warming up the house.   Of course, breakfast is not usually set to such ideal conditions. We are usually rushing to get ready for school and work, and don't often have the luxury of time and relaxation. That means that quick healthy breakfasts are coveted by this busy mom! When we processed the elk I recently harvested, we ended up with a lot of cuts of meat best suited for the grinder. We decided that along with our standard burger, we wanted to make breakfast sausage as well. I use so much burger throughout the year, in pasta, casseroles, chili, and a ton of other meals. But we often overlook breakfast in our planning.  Not this year! In the past when I have made bre...
Post a Comment
Read more

Raddish Love

  So, I am obsessed with radishes.  I know, that's weird.  I love them for a number of reasons.  The first is how quickly they grow.  Radishes are always the first thing that is ready in my garden.  They pop out of the soil, just asking to be picked.    I've always thought of radishes as an unappetizing addition to salads.  I had only ever had them raw, until I grew my own.  Although I do like them raw now, I disliked their spicy flavor, and could think of no other way to eat them.  My favorite way to use radishes now is sauteed.  I slice them and saute them with olive oil and a bit of salt.  After they cool, I add them to salads, use them to top pizza, or toss them in pasta.  After they are sauteed, radishes loose their bite, and are almost sweet!  My children love them this way.  In fact, my daughter, Tessie, was so used to cooked radishes, that she once picked up a big radish at a party ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shredded Elk Carne Adovada

Every time Nick harvests an elk, we are usually left with a lot of meat that is hard to clean and prepare because of all the sinew. We set it aside and label it “stew” or “shank” and it sits in the freezer. I have been so fed up with this waste of good meat, so Nick and I decided it was time to step out of our comfort zone and do SOMETHING with the lower leg meat. We were given some advice from our friend and New Mexico Senator, Martin Heinrich, who claims this is his favorite cut of meat. He told us to cover it in red chile and cook it overnight. So I took that advice and ran with it! The result was absolutely fantastic! I will definitely be experimenting with more ways to use this cut of meat from now on!  Shredded Elk Shank Carne Adovada About 2 pounds elk shank ( Lower leg) Salt and pepper to taste  1 tablespoon garlic powder  3 tablespoons red chili powder  1 teaspoon cumin  1 teaspoon coriander  half a teaspoon paprika  Abo...
Post a Comment
Read more