Polenta slices with mountain cheese and saffron, mushroom cream sauce and iceberg lettuce

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 150 g polenta semolina
• 600 ml water
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vegetable stock powder
• 20 g butter
• 40 g mountain cheese, grated or Parmesan or Gouda, as desired
• 0.1 g saffron threads
• butter
• 300 g fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 small onion(s) or 2 shallots
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 3 tbsp white wine
• 200 g cream
• Caraway, whole, amount as desired
• ½ tsp rosemary, chopped
• nutmeg
• Grated cheese, optional
• Iceberg lettuce
• Fig vinegar
• olive oil
• herbal salt
• Dressing (French Dressing)

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

sophisticated and vegetarian

For the polenta slices, place the water, salt, and stock in a non-stick saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and gradually add the polenta, stirring constantly. Stir in one direction only to avoid lumps. Return the pan to the stovetop over low heat and add the butter. Keep stirring. Add the saffron threads and rosemary. Then add the grated cheese—yes, keep stirring (a glass of wine won’t hurt, but for the cook, not in the polenta!). After about 10 minutes of constant stirring, the job is done. Slide the polenta from the pan into a lightly greased baking dish. The polenta should be about 1.5-2 cm thick in the dish. Let it rest and cool for about half an hour. Cut the polenta into pieces (triangles, squares, or diamonds) so that you can remove them later with a spatula. While the polenta is cooling, prepare the mushroom cream sauce and iceberg lettuce. Clean and slice the mushrooms. Dice or slice the onion or shallots, as well as the garlic clove. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic until translucent. Then add the sliced ​​mushrooms and fry for about 2-3 minutes. Deglaze with 3-4 tablespoons of white wine and let it reduce slightly. Gradually add the cup of cream and let it reduce slightly. If you like a lot of sauce, use 1.5 cups of cream. If you have leftover grated cheese, add 1-2 tablespoons to thicken the sauce nicely and add flavor. Season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg, rosemary, and caraway. Remove from the heat. Place the cleaned iceberg lettuce in a bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients into a sauce and toss the salad with it. Fry the cooled polenta pieces in a nonstick pan in a little butter or rapeseed oil until golden brown on both sides. It’s only about a light browning; the polenta would be edible on its own. To serve: Place the polenta pieces on warmed plates, drizzle some of the sauce over them and some on the sides. Portion the iceberg lettuce onto the plates as well. The combination of the fluffy polenta pieces (they should be fluffy if everything went well!) and the crisp iceberg lettuce is fantastic! Good luck and enjoy!