Ricotta Polenta With Tomato Mushroom Sauce/Ragu
Creamy Polenta with Tomato and Mushrooms
I posted this back in January 2012, it’s really delicious and worth posting again, I am not really doing any cooking because of my injury so I thought it would be fun to go back into the recesses of my blog and re post some of my recipes. This is a wonderful, filling vegetarian dish, you can of course add meat to the sauce but I love it with just vegetables. Tailor to however you like it, adding lots of fresh herbs, different types of mushrooms, I think eggplant would be wonderful. You don’t really have to follow a recipe for this.
Serves 4-6 depending on serving size
4 cups whey or water
1 cup polenta (corn meal) I used stone ground
pinch of salt
1/2 cup ricotta (well drained)
2 tbs butter
black pepper (2 or 3 turns of the pepper mill)
In saucepan add the whey or water and pinch of salt, bring to a rolling boil. Whisk in the polenta, don’t dump it all in add slowly while you are whisking it thickens very quickly. Lower heat to low and continue whisking until its done. It takes approximately 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat add the butter and stir, now add the ricotta. Stir until its all incorporated. Cover pan and set aside while you make the sauce.
8 oz cremini mushrooms sliced or whatever type of mushroom you like
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or 1 28 oz can whole or chopped tomatoes
splash of white wine
2 clove garlic peeled and minced
1 whole shallot peeled and chopped
handful italian parsley chopped
olive oil for pan
salt and pepper to taste
Put some olive oil in a saute pan and heat on medium high. Add the shallots and cook until they become soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook until they start to caramelize. Now add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms lightly browned, add the tomato and wine and cook on med/high until sauce thickens approximately 30 minutes uncovered, I like to cook this in a large skillet. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. Add the chopped parsley.
apuginthekitchen 
Seriously Suzanne, you should post this recipe once a month!! Look how gorgeous that is!! I love everything about it, and yes, I agree, it would be delcious with eggplant!
Thank you so much, it really is such a delicious rustic sort of recipe. I love how creamy the polenta is and with the ragu, it’s so nice.
Great recipe, Susan, and it sounds perfect for the weather : ) Stay warm!
I was looking through my recipes and thats exactly what I thought, perfect for this cold weather. Thank you so much Anatoli!
I love polenta and really have wanted to make something similar to this. Now I have a delicious recipe to try. Happy New Year.
Thank you, it’s really good winter comfort food!
Yum! Looks great!
Thank you so much!
Thanks for reposting. I am stove top for the next who knows long!
Thank you, is your oven not working?
A mouthwatering and comforting recipe. I’d love to taste something like this! I’m sorry about your finger and that it’s still not entirely mended. 😦 I’m sure it’s a frustration and annoyance but the silver lining is that It’s good to give yourself a rest. Heal soon!
Thanks Azita, one day soon I will make it for you.
woo hoo! 🙂
This sounds delicious. I hope that your finger is on the mend and that you are safe and warm from the wintry weather hitting your part of the world. 😉
Thanks, temps are on the rise and the weekend promises to be quite balmy. The finger is not doing great, going to the doc soon. Thank you again.
Sorry to hear that, hope the doc can sort it out.
This is such a beautiful dish Suzanne! Rich and hearty and just perfect for the weather you’ve been having recently… though I’m sure I could easily find a way to eat this through summer too!
I was hoping that your finger would be well and truly on the mend by now, so very sorry to hear that it’s taking so long to heal. Please tell me that you still managed to do something fun with friends for NYE?! I hope so. 🙂
Thank you, I’ve been reading about this type of injury and it seems that it’s a very long process, months they said, ugh!!! I am resting the finger for a few weeks but thats about as long as I can do that. I stayed local on NYE, relaxed and had a very quiet evening. It was nice.
Oh my goodness, Suzanne, your finger sounds very painful. I am relieved you weren’t injured worse. I made Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day as well, and had enough left over to freeze for a couple of more meals. And just tonight I was thinking mushrooms, so I stopped on the way home to pick some up, not sure what I might do with them. This looks divine, and I utterly love polenta. The ricotta gilds the lily! Thank you.
Thanks Cynthia, the injury was extremely painful, still is although the pain has subsided somewhat. The hoppin john was great, felt really nice to eat, so many vegetables and beans loved it. I love polenta and yes with ricotta is fantastic.
I feel deeply for you. You have a highly active life on many levels, and only wish I were your neighbor so I could bring you warm dinners.
Great recipe! Thanks for the post! We haven’t had polenta in several years!
I love polenta and don’t make it that often. Seeing this recipe reminded me it’s time to have it again. Thank you so much.
Suzanne, I’m so sorry to read that your finger is not doing well. Please let us know what the doc says and keep us posted.
As to your dish, oh my, oh my! It looks heavenly delicious. I would definitely add some meat. That’s how we eat it. I have never though of adding ricotta to the polenta. What a great and intriguing idea! Must try.
Stay warm and my best wishes!
F. Xx
Thank you, I am really very discouraged about my finger. I thought once the bone is put back the finger is as it was but thats not the case at all. I will let you know what the doc says and I hope you give the polenta with ricotta a try, it’s wonderful also with mascarpone. Thanks so much,
That seems like a great comfort food recipe during the polar vortex. 🙂 My sympathies on your finger. I injured my tailbone at the end of June and it still hurts. So frustrating! Hang in there!
Ooohhhhh, so sorry about the tailbone, that would be painful. Hope you are not experiencing any pain very soon. Thank you so much.
Still haven’t made polenta. Really must try it this week. Not that there’s much of it left. And I’m loving the idea of your ragu. Hmm, just wondering if rosemary would go in this as I can’t get fresh parsley. Well, if I bothered to trek the 3-4 hour journey to the superstore…but as it’s been raining every day here I think I’ll try rosemary!
Grief, I’ve just read your last response. Do hope your finger is on the mend.
Rosemary would be wonderful any herb really, thyme would also be good. I would never trek that far for parsley, use what you have on hand. Hoping finger is on the mend too, thanks.
yum! Way worth re-posting 🙂 Using whey is brilliant. Hope you’re not overmuch pain and healing as quickly as possible. Totally hit the spot with this polenta post–exactly what I feel like eating right now!
Thanks so much Liz, I was craving polenta!!
I had no idea your injury would take months (!) to heal. But the xray really did look horrible. I’m so sorry! At least this is the perfect dish to make you feel better about it. This is one of my favorite vegetarian comfort meals! So perfect for wintery nights.
Yes, looking for foods that are comforting and easy to prepare. This dish fits the bill. Thanks so much Susan.
I’m salivating. Looks insanely good. I just saw a polenta meal on the food network that had me dying…it was layered with polenta, pesto and then tomato sauce! So, seeing your post is really making me crave polenta! It’s beautiful and sounds amazingly good.
Hope you are feeling better!!
I meant to add soon at the end of that sentence! I’m sorry your finger is hurting so much. 😦
Thank you, I know, love Polenta, layering with pesto and tomato sauce sounds delicious I am icing every day now and taking the anti inflammatory meds. Hoping it will help.
I love mushrooms any way they are cooked! This is right up my alley! Take care and get well!
Thanks Katerina, me too, love mushrooms!
How are you doing lately, Suzanne? Any word on how long it might take that finger to heal?
That photo is making me want to stick a spoon right through the screen. I adore polenta, but haven’t made it yet this winter. This looks like Sunday Dinner this week. Just pressed print!
Hi Lori, thanks so much for asking. My finger is going to take months to heal I think. It’s still pretty bad.
I love the polenta with the ragu, it’s just perfect comfort food! Thank you.
Ugh, so sorry to hear that! I’m doubting you’ll be able to stay out of the kitchen that whole time, so I bet you’re going to get pretty good at cooking with your left hand 🙂
Well I doubt I can stay away for another month, my finger has to improve. I am staying away for now taking it a day at a time. After my visit to the doc I’ll know more regarding what I can and can’t do.
I feel almost unpatriotic saying this, since I was born in Italy, but I have a very tentative relationship with polenta. I don’t hate it or anything, but I also don’t ADORE it either. Just curious…how does the ricotta change the polenta in both taste and texture? It could very well be that this way of making polenta could make me a lover!
Some are adverse to a very strong corn flavor and the ricotta mellows the polenta a bit, a little hard to explain. The texture is not that different but the flavor is a little more cheesy from the ricotta.Thank you!
Thanks for bring this recipe back! It looks delightful! Quick healing.
Thank you so much Tracy!
OMG Suzzane! You managed to blend in one recipe some of my favorite things: polenta, ricotta and mushrooms! The vegetable sauce must taste wonderful over the creamy polenta! Another great recipe to save for my winter. By the way, how are you dealing with such a fierce cold weather and how is your finger doing? Hope you are getting better!!
Thanks so much Viviana, it is a really simple and tasty recipe. The sauce with the polenta is delicious! We really only had 2 days of brutally cold weather, it’s already warming up. Today was in the low 40’s and by the weekend we will be in the 50’s. Short lived polar vortex I guess. My finger is still pretty bad, going to the doc soon maybe she can shed some light as to why it is such a slow process to heal from this type of injury! Thanks so much for asking, you are so kind.
This is so, so gorgeous… definitely worth a repost! So sorry that your finger is taking ages to heal, I’ll be thinking of you and sending good thoughts your way! Hoping that you’re keeping warm too. Snuggle up and enjoy some down-time if you can xx
Thanks Laura, the finger is starting to heal I think, pain is less but still very swollen.
Wow, ricotta polenta? That sounds really interesting! Your dish looks gorgeous!
It’s really good, I made the ricotta and used the whey for the polenta. Thanks Christina.
Looks absolutely delectable and comforting. I like all the ingredients put together. I never made polenta. I have a box of it in my pantry, which I bought to learn how to make it. I have no excuse now not use it and make this fabulous dish.
Polenta is so good, creamy and warm and it goes so well with a rustic ragu. Thanks Fae, I hope you like it.
I’m so behind that I missed your injury. So sorry Suzanne. But I’m glad you re-posted this because it looks heavenly. I’ve never made polenta but I’d like to have a go. I hope you are feeling better soon.
Thank ypu so much. I love polenta paired with the rich ragu, it’s really wonderful especially in the cold winter months,
Thanks to for the well wishes, It is going to be a long road with the injury I’m afraid but today I saw a bit of improvement so am feeling good about that.
This is wonderful, Suzanne: I love polenta with mushrooms and your rendition of the dish looks awesome!
Hope your finger is recovering well. So sorry it is proving to be so long and painful a path… 😦
Thanks so much, me too, Polenta is wonderful and I think it goes so well with the mushroom tomato sauce.
Yea, the finger is proving to be a real problem. I usually heal very quickly and this is not which really bothers me.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE polenta! And this looks spectacularly delicious Suzanne!
Thank you so much, it’s really truly comfort food.