Eat Healthy and Cheap
Polenta with Mushroom Ragu
Polenta was peasant food in northern Italy long before it turned up on restaurant menus, cooked in water alone and topped with whatever the season gave the cook: a handful of mushrooms, a spoonful of tomato. This version leans on that logic. Cremini mushrooms, minced fine and dry-seared until every drop of their water cooks off, take on a browned, almost meaty depth that a wet saute never reaches, and a hard toast of tomato paste in the same pot builds the rest of the color. The polenta gets its creaminess from a splash of unsweetened oat milk and a spoonful of nutritional yeast instead of butter and Parmesan, stirred in only once the grains have fully softened.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Cremini mushrooms, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 Yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 Carrot, finely diced
- 1 stalk Celery, finely diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 sprig Rosemary, leaves stripped and minced
- 1 Bay leave
- 1 tbsp Red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 2 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for serving
- 1 cup Polenta / coarse cornmeal
- 1 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 3/4 cup Unsweetened oat milk
- 2 tbsp Nutritional yeast
Method
- Trim the cremini mushrooms and pulse them in a food processor, in batches, until they look like coarse ground meat. A knife works too, just mince by hand. This is what gives the ragu its texture without any meat at all.
- Spread the mushrooms in a wide, dry pot over medium-high heat. Leave them undisturbed for 3 minutes so they release their water, then stir occasionally until that water cooks off and the mushrooms brown and smell deeply savory, 10 to 12 minutes. This dry-sear builds the fond an oiled pan would otherwise supply.
- Push the mushrooms to one side and add the onion, carrot, and celery with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes, then stir everything together with the garlic, rosemary, and bay leaf and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
- Clear a spot in the center of the pot, add the tomato paste, and let it sit undisturbed for 90 seconds until it darkens to brick red before stirring it in. Toasting the paste this way turns its raw tang into something closer to roasted flavor, and it becomes the backbone of the ragu.
- Pour in the no-salt bouillon and 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and stew-like, 20 to 22 minutes. Add a splash more water if the pot looks dry before then.
- Fish out the bay leaf, stir in the red wine vinegar and black pepper, and taste. The vinegar does the job salt usually would, cutting through the richness and sharpening everything underneath it.
- Meanwhile, bring 3 1/2 cups (840 ml) water to a boil in a separate pot. Whisking constantly, pour in the polenta in a thin, steady stream so it cannot clump.
- Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for 25 to 30 minutes, until the grains lose their raw crunch and the polenta pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pot. Coarse, stone-ground polenta needs this full simmer; instant polenta will not build the same texture.
- Off the heat, stir in the oat milk and nutritional yeast. This stands in for the butter and Parmesan a traditional polenta would use: the oat milk loosens it to a pourable creaminess and the nutritional yeast adds a savory, cheese-like edge.
- Divide the polenta among bowls, spoon the mushroom ragu over the top, and scatter with parsley.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 255 calories, 9 g protein, 7 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.
