2 servings; 10 min preparation; 25-30 min cooking time.

If you follow this recipe, you will have a delicious dinner in less than 30 min. If might look simple, but there are many flavors that complement each other and create a rich and complex dish.

The mint gives freshness to the creamy polenta. The coconut milk, makes it velvety and silky. There is a little bit of acidity from the vinegar, but the cream sauce brings everything together with a little bit of sweetness.

I used butter and cream for this dish, but you can make it perfectly vegan if you use coconut milk or vegan milk instead. If you don’t want to miss the richness of the butter, use margarine, which is entirely  based on vegetable oils. Furthermore, use any mushrooms you like. I would prefer a little more depth in my ragout, so the best ones are wild, chestnut or shiitake mushrooms.

Ingredients

for the polenta:

• 100 g polenta, uncooked
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 1 tbsp fresh mint, minced
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt

for the ragout:

• 200 g wild mushrooms, brushed and cut in big pieces
• 30 ml white wine vinegar
• 100 ml heavy cream*
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp fresh parley, chopped
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp butter*

*for a vegan version, replace the cooking cream with vegan cream or coconut milk and remove the butter

Preparation

Polenta: Cook the polenta in water and coconut milk (ratio 1:2). Season with salt and white pepper. If it’s too thick, add more water and cook further. Remove from the heat. Mince the mint leaves and add them to the polenta. Stir and set aside.

Ragout: Brush the mushrooms or clean them with kitchen paper. Cut the mushrooms in big chunks. Mince the shallot.

Heat coconut oil and butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Sauté the shallots for a couple of minutes until soft. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes. Drizzle the vinegar on top. Stir until the liquid evaporates. If you see that there is no liquid on the pan add dried thyme and the cream (coconut milk).

Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10-15 min. If it start getting dry, add more cream or water. Season with salt and pepper. At the end, add the minced fresh parsley. Serve on a bed of polenta. Enjoy!