Creamy Polenta and Mushroom Ragout

The other day a friend called for ideas on making a veggie meal for a guest who was vegan.  After I told her about an easy dinner to make which includes polenta and roasted vegetables, I realized that it sounded really good and I was craving this favorite meal again!

You can't actually see the polenta in this picture, but what I ended up making was creamy polenta with a mushroom ragout and roasted brussel sprouts and onions.

It was delicious!  Here's what I did.

(Recipe adapted from epicurious.com)

For the polenta:

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Boil the water first.  When it is boiling, whisk in the cornmeal and turn heat to low.  Add salt and pepper, stir to mix well, and cover with a lid for 6-8 minutes.  Remove from heat.

For the mushroom ragout:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon safflower oil
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cups mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 roma tomatoes, halved, seeded, and chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1 cup canned corn
• 1/2 cup vegan chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan.  Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to exude their juices and become soft.  Finally, add the rest of the ingredients, except for the chives, and cook on medium heat for ten minutes.  If the mixture is too watery, boil until most of the liquid is reduced. 

To serve, heap a generous serving of the polenta on your plate, cover it with the ragout and add the roasted veggies (in this case it was brussel sprouts) on the side.  Sprinkle the chives over everything.  

Sit back and enjoy!