Portobello Mushrooms with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Polenta

I listen to music while doing chores but sometimes I just want the background noise of the TV. During football season, it’s whatever game is on even if I don’t care about what teams are playing. Otherwise it’s typically Food Network and right now, specifically Beat Bobby Flay. It’s a very cheesy show but sometimes it gives me good ideas like these Portobello Mushrooms with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Polenta. I know it’s a long name but I didn’t know how to condense it. 

To keep track of recipe ideas that come to me, I create a document in my Google Drive with notes for each idea. I’ve had a “roasted portobello mushroom and polenta” document for a while now with no real idea of what direction I was going to go with it. I was watching Beat Bobby Flay and one of the signature dishes he was challenged to was chicken cacciatore. Cacciatore is usually braised chicken or rabbit with tomato and wine sauce. There are a lot of variations of this dish on what type of wine and vegetables are used. Since this is very loosely inspired by cacciatore and I like to honor the integrity of traditional dishes, I’m not going to label it that way or claim it’s related. But it is what got my wheels spinning on this recipe.

I love this recipe because it’s all made in one pan (besides the polenta) and is ready in well under an hour. You start by sautéing the onions and garlic, add in the tomato paste and spices, and then deglaze the pan with dry red wine which is the beginning of the delicious sauce. Then sprinkle on a handful of cherry tomatoes and nestle 4 portobello mushrooms into the pan. The whole pan goes into the oven for roasting. The sauce reduces and the tomatoes burst and the results are a thick, jammy, flavorful tomato red wine sauce with deeply roasted portobello mushrooms. I’ve been really into polenta lately and the acidic spicy sauce pairs perfectly with creamy polenta.

This Portobello Mushrooms with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Polenta recipe is rustic but feels a little fancy like date-night food. Whether you make it for a special occasion or just a typical weeknight, you and your loved ones will gush over this!

Portobello Mushrooms with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Polenta

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• Author: kindrootsfood
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

One pan roasted portobello mushrooms with cacciatore inspired spicy tomato sauce served over creamy polenta comes together in under an hour!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Portobello Mushrooms:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• A handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped

Polenta:

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1 cup Polenta
• 4 tablespoons non-dairy butter
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or if not vegan, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

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Instructions

Portobello Mushrooms

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat olive oil in cast iron or other oven safe pan.
3. Add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes until beginning to soften.
4. Add garlic and sauté for 1-2 more minutes.
5. Add tomato paste, red pepper, oregano, basil, and salt and stir well. Cook for 2-3 minutes until tomato paste begins to darken to a brick color.
6. Add red wine and stir well.
7. Spread tomatoes evenly in pan.
8. Top with portobello mushroom caps. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
9. Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes until mushrooms are cooked through and tomatoes have burst and reduced to a thick sauce.
10. While the mushrooms and tomatoes are roasting, begin with the polenta.

Polenta

1. Combine water, milk, and salt in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Slowly pour in polenta and whisk to combine. Reduce heat to low and whisk for 3-4 minutes until beginning to thicken.
3. Cover and allow to cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Once cooked through, add non-dairy butter and nutritional yeast and stir to combine until butter has melted.
5. Serve polenta topped with tomato sauce, portobello mushroom, and fresh basil.

Notes

If you don’t have polenta, this would also be delicious served over pasta, orzo, pasta, or with crusty bread!

If you don’t have an oven safe pan, complete steps 1-6 with the pan you have and then poor mixture into oven safe pan such as a casserole dish and complete the steps from there.

• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 30
• Category: Main

Keywords: portobello mushrooms, cacciatore, spicy tomato sauce, polenta