White Cheddar Polenta with Braised Greens, Mushrooms, and Pancetta

by hsmeow

Prep time: 0:30 Overall time: 0:35

SERVINGS

4 servings scale / convert

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb. fresh wild seasonal mushroom, cleaned and sliced in half
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 stems green garlic, thinly sliced (regular garlic will work if you can’t get green garlic)
1/4 lb. pancetta (Italian cured bacon) or bacon, sliced
4 cups water
1-7/8 tbsp. salt
1 cup polenta (coarse cornmeal)
3/4 cups grated white Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 lb. braising greens, washed and torn into bite size pieces (Kale, collards, beet greens, chard, and turnip greens all work well either mixed together or separately)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring water and salt to boil.
Slowly whisk in polenta and reduce heat
Cook , stirring often, until polenta thickens about 25 minutes.
Stir in the grated Cheddar and the butter
Cover and set aside.

Wash your greens and set aside in a colander. Do not shake off any excess liquid
In a large pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the green garlic and pancetta until lightly browned.
Add the mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes.
Turn heat to high and add the greens
Toss together until slightly wilted
Turn heat to down to low, cover, and braise for 5-6 minutes.

Serve the greens over the polenta, garnished with ground pepper and olive oil.

CHEF COMMENTS

This recipe was on my CSA's blog as a way to use the abundance of greens we were getting every week!

TAGS

greens, main courses, mushrooms, pancetta, polenta add tags

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