The recipe is technically called “Polenta Portobellos” and for the first several times leafing through my favorite cookbook I passed by this quickly, as I’m on the fence about polenta. I recall that I like it at times (although never over the moon about it) and not at others. And I certainly had never attempted to make it. But the other key ingredients of the recipe – Brussels sprouts, onions, goat cheese and of course mushrooms – are right up my alley, and are favorites of the friends we recently had to the house for dinner. Even though I love appetizers, my usual approach is to leave that decision and preparation until the eleventh hour, at which time I’m left only with the option of stopping quickly at the store to pick up cheese, bread and olives – most of which gets packaged back up at the end of the evening and discovered a few weeks later, having to be tossed. With a little more time to plan this time around, I wanted to try an appetizer to have ready for them on arrival, since there would be a good amount of time between that and dinner (we needed to squeeze in bath and bedtime for the kids). They were a hit (even with my husband, who was initially skeptical), polenta and all. Recipe and prep tips included below, and original source link here.

I prepped all ingredients the night before, to help with the cooking and assembly times the following day, when I knew kids would be underfoot. More detail in the “My Notes” section at the end of the recipe.

To prep the mushrooms, remove the stems (they pop out easily with a simple twist and pull) and gently remove the dark part of the mushroom by scraping with the tip of a spoon. All parts are edible, but not as good as the cap, and may discolor the recipe or affect the taste of the topping. Plus, this way you have more room for the yummy filling.

Reality Check. For a moment during the prep I thought this would be my first “thumbs down” of the recipes in The Forest Feast. When tasting the polenta at one point I thought “this really needs bacon. I’m surprised she doesn’t have bacon in this.” I remembered only really at that time that it is a vegetarian cookbook. I purchased bacon to add, but it was better without and I ended up not using it. There is a reason why Erin Gleeson writes recipes and I do not.

Recipe
Polenta Portobellos

Sprinkle 4 large Portabellos with minced garlic (1 clove each), olive oil and salt
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes

For the topping, slice 8 Brussels sprouts and 1 red onion paper thin and caramelize over medium heat with 1 T butter, about 15 minutes or until golden.

For the polenta, boil 2 cups water, add 1/2 cup cornmeal, reduce to a low simmer, stirring often until creamy, about 15 minutes, then stir in 1/4 cup chevre goat cheese, plus salt and pepper to taste.

Fill caps with polenta and top with onion mixture.

My notes: I used 6 medium sized portobellos, for an appetizer portion. I prepped the mushrooms, caramelized the topping and made the polenta the night before. I found that the onions and Brussels sprouts took a bit longer than the noted 15 minutes to caramelize, and I needed to add a bit more goat cheese and time on the stove than noted for the polenta (but that may have been a personal taste and texture preference). Before serving, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and put the mushrooms in the oven for about 12 minutes while gently reheating the topping (in a small sauté pan) and polenta (in a small sauce pot) on the stove. Right before arrival I  finished off the appetizer by placing the warmed polenta and topping on the mushrooms and placing again in the oven for about 5 to 8 minutes to blend the flavors nicely and heat throughout.