About the Recipe
I do enjoy a good ragout and this one is no exception. Rich herby ragout with a velvety buttery polenta Its just Yum. You can do so many other things with this ragout as-well, toss it through some pasta or let it cool down over night and use it as a pie filling.
Our Smoked onion marmalade adds a lovely sweetness and a little bit of smoke hiding in the background just to round the sauce out.
So the key to getting as much flavour in a sauce is the browning of your veggies at the beginning get them as brown as possible without burning them, there is a difference 😅. This brings out all the natural sugars of the vegetables and caramelises them, it also helps give the sauce a lovely colour. I love putting wine in a sauce it adds great depth and gives the sauce a bit of complexity but just make sure you cook it out before you add the stock and other ingredients, if you get your pan hot enough it may set on fire, its not necessary but makes you look cool as, I do it every time!
Now to the Polenta, I have a love hate relationship with polenta I bloody love to eat it but I really do hate making it, once in the kitchen I was minding my own business stirring away when suddenly the polenta erupts and splatters molten lave all Over my arm and face causing quite a bad burn. So you have been warned, treat the polenta with some respect and stir from a far or at least with a tea towel covered arm.
If you want to go all out on this meal id recommend some Homemade Focaccia (recipe coming soon) or crusty bread and a lovely rocket salad doused in a tangy balsamic to help cut through the richness of the meal.
Enjoy!
Dom
Ingredients
For the ragout
100ml Block 275 canola oil or olive oil
1 medium brown onion thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
100ml red wine (I like using shiraz)
3 tbsps tomato paste
2 tbsps Smoked onion marmalade
400g Field Mushrooms sliced 1cm thick
200g button mushrooms in 1/4
250ml veg stock
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Polenta
150g fine polenta
350ml milk
750ml water
25g butter
100g pecorino cheese
good pinch of nutmeg
Preparation
Saute the onion in oil with a pinch of salt until soft and starting to brown
Toss in the mushrooms and cook till they start to soften and are golden brown.
Add garlic and cook for 2 mins then add the tomato paste & onion marmalade and cook till starting to bubble
Add the red wine and stir well let cook out for 4-5 mins
Pour in the veg stock and add the bayleaf and thyme bring back to a boil then reduce to a simmer cook till thick and glossy
While the Ragout is reducing, put the milk, water and butter into a medium sized pot and bring to a boil.
Whisk in the the polenta and keep whisking until it thickens, turn down the heat to low, be super careful polenta is like molten lava and this will spit every now and again during stiring
Keep the polenta on a low heat stirring every now and again for about 30 mins then add your pecorino and nutmeg
By this point both the ragout and polenta should be done, taste and adjust seasoning to your liking
Put a big dollop of the polenta into your bowls followed by the ragout then grate more pecorino and finish with fresh torn parsley and a good crack of black pepper
