Polenta con mais, sugo ai funghi e olio al tartufo

I had two corn cobs that I had no inspiration on how to prepare, so after going through Plenty the book of Yotam Ottolenghi, I came across an interesting idea…using fresh corn to make polenta. Why not? This intrigued me so I decided to use his idea to prepare the polenta (except that I did not add feta in the polenta), then made a sauce with wild mushrooms, pancetta and tomatoes, a more traditional sauce, that of course could be used on regular polenta (his recipe is made with an eggplant sauce).

The flavor is quite surprising, the corn being sweet, when it’s crushed its sweetness is amplified, so in that sense, it’s different from regular polenta made with corn flour. I liked the texture but I thought the sweetness of the corn was a little too much for me, since sweetness is not my “element”. I think it’s worth trying and definitely a lighter alternative to regular polenta.

Ingredients for 2

  • 2 corns on the cob
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 2 tbs pancetta, chopped (optional)
  • 1/2 shallot, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp parsley, chopped
  • 1 tsp basil, chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup of mixed wild mushrooms, cut roughly
  • parmesan shaved
  • truffle oil
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Start preparing the polenta. Cut the corn from cob and cook in water for about 10 minutes (the water needs to cover the corn). Drain and keep water. Blend corn in a blender, adding some water if it gets too thick. Place back in the pan and cook for another additional 15 minutes, adding water if it thickens too much. Adjust with salt. Add 1 tsp butter at the end of the cooking process.

In a pan, heat olive oil, cook pancetta until crispy, then remove from the pan. In the same pan, add shallots and let them sweat. Add herbs and garlic and cook for a few minutes at low temperature until fragrant. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook until water evaporates. Add tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until soft and no water is left in the pan. Add pancetta and mix well.

Pour some polenta in a deep plate, top with a few tablespoons of mushroom sauce. Add parmesan shavings and drizzle with truffle oil.