What a lazy long weekend. Triple-digit temperatures and wildfire smoke hit the Bay Area (again), and so I mostly stayed indoors, binge-watching Netflix shows (Away and Lenox Hill).
But despite the heat, a girl still needs to eat. Fortunately, I had all the makings of a quick and easy meal – namely, creamy polenta with collard greens and mushrooms.
You can enjoy the meatless main straightaway … or transform the leftovers into bestovers. Simply transfer the polenta to a square baking pan lined with parchment paper and let it chill overnight. Then cut the polenta into pieces and pan-fry them in olive oil, and pile on the collard greens and mushrooms just before serving. Either way, it’s delicious.
P.S. While the weather’s better, we woke up to an ominous orange sky. Seriously, what should we expect next?
Recipe adapted from Country Living Magazine.
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finish
- 1 pound mushrooms, torn into bite-size pieces (see notes)
- ¼ red onion, finely diced
- 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
- ¾ pound collard greens, ribs removed and leaves cut crosswise into 1"-thick pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1⅔ cups whole milk
- 1 cup polenta
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Heat olive oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and red onion and toss to coat. Cook, without stirring, until the mushrooms start to brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Stir mushrooms and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, collard greens, garlic, marjoram and ¼ cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, until collard greens are wilted, 4-6 minutes. Stir in red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a medium pot, bring milk and 2⅓ cups water to a boil. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from heat, add butter and Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Spoon the polenta into bowls and drizzle with olive oil. Top with collard greens and mushrooms mixture and additional Parmesan cheese.
Yum! I’m going to try this one as soon as I get some mushrooms. Thanks, Alison!
Yay – hope you like it!