Baked Polenta

There is a definite chill in the air but armed with cheese, butter, garlic and mushrooms I feel quite prepared for it.

📝 Ingredients

• 250 g Spanish sausage (chorizo or bacon, chopped into chunks)
• splash of oil
• 1 clove garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 250 g mushrooms (thinly sliced)
• 1/3 cup Flat Roof Manor Shiraz/Mourvedre/Viognier
• 1 cup instant polenta
• 3 cups 750ml hot vegetable/chicken stock
• 50 g parmesan cheese (finely grated)
• 50 g butter
• 150 g cherry/baby tomatoes
• 100 g feta cheese (roughly crumbled)
• handful of torn basil
• cracked black pepper to taste
• the stock, cheese and sausage is salty so check if you need to add salt before adding

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Fry the sausage in a splash of oil until the fat has rendered and the sausage has become crispy. Spoon the sausage out of the plan with a slotted spoon, remove the pan from the heat and add the garlic and thyme. Fry the garlic and thyme in the fat for a few minutes. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan and return to the heat. Bring to the boil and add the mushrooms and cooked sausage. Simmer over a medium heat until the mushrooms are soft with a bit of moisture still left in the pan.
2. 2Preheat the oven grill
3. 3In an oven proof frying pan mix the polenta and stock with a whisk. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer while constantly whisking for about 10 minutes until the polenta pills away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan and butter.
4. 4Spoon the mushroom mixture evenly over the polenta and sprinkle the feta and tomatoes over the top.
5. 5Place under the grill for 5 – 10 minutes until the tomatoes are blistered and the cheese a golden brown (keep checking that it does not burn).
6. 6Sprinkle with torn basil and serve with a glass of Flat Roof Manor Shiraz/Mourvedre/Viognier