Cheesy baked polenta with garlic butter, mushrooms and chickpeas
By:
Jess Meyer
Former deputy food editor, delicious.
- Published: 24 May 22
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Top cheesy baked polenta with mushrooms, pesto, chickpeas and garlicky butter for a budget vegetarian dinner with a big flavour punch.
Polenta left in the packet? Why not use it to make our fragrant lemon polenta cake?
Ingredients
- 500ml whole milk
- 180g instant polenta
- 200g tinned or frozen sweetcorn, drained/defrosted
- 100g unsalted butter
- 500g mixed mushrooms, trimmed, large ones halved
- 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 thyme sprigs
- Glug olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 50g grated cheddar (we used smoked cheddar for flavour)
- 50g parmesan or vegetarian alternative, finely grated, plus extra to serve
- Pesto from a jar and roughly chopped parsley to serve
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Put the milk and 500ml water in a hob-safe casserole with a lid and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Whisk in the polenta in a steady stream, then stir in the corn, about 30g butter and some salt and pepper. Cover with the lid and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, toss the mushrooms, chickpeas and thyme with a glug of olive oil and spread over a large baking tray. Season well, then roast for 15 minutes. Add the garlic and remaining butter, stir well, then return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
- After the polenta has cooked for 20 minutes, remove it from the oven and whisk till smooth. Stir in both cheeses, then return to the oven, uncovered, and bake for another 15 minutes until golden. Pile on the roasted mushrooms and chickpeas. Drizzle over the garlicky butter from the tray and top with pesto and chopped parsley to serve.
- Recipe from May 2022 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 706kcals
- Fat
- 43.1g (22.1g saturated)
- Protein
- 25.4g
- Carbohydrates
- 50.9g (7.3g sugars)
- Fibre
- 6.6g
- Salt
- 0.6g
delicious. tips
Flavour boost: For the polenta, replace the water with the same quantity of good stock.
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