Carrot & Herb Polenta with Balsamic Onions

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:09:03 GMT

Step 1

Put your oven on to 180°C fan/Gas 6. Peel and chop the onions into quarters, through the root (sometimes our onions can be very small, if so, just halve them, or even leave whole if they are very tiny).

Step 2

Peel and finely grate the garlic. Strip off and finely chop 1 good tbsp of rosemary leaves. Finely zest a quarter of the lemon.

Step 3

Put the garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, red wine, 1 tbsp of the balsamic vinegar, all the mustard and 1 tbsp of oil into a large bowl. Season. Toss in the onions, then tip it all onto a large roasting tin lined with baking parchment (unless yours is very non-stick and you don't mind cleaning it well). Roast for 35 - 45 minutes or so, tossing them halfway through, until they're tender, with a little bite to them. Cover with foil towards the end, if they look like they may catch. If your onions are very small, keep and eye, as they may not take quite this long.

Step 4

Meanwhile, place the dried mushrooms and 4 good sprigs of thyme in a heatproof jug. Boil a kettle and pour over 550ml of boiled water. Set aside to soak.

Step 5

Toast the pine nuts in a dry saucepan for 2-3 minutes, until lightly golden, then transfer to a plate.

Step 6

Peel and coarsely grate the carrots.

Step 7

When the onions are nearly ready, remove the thyme sprigs from the dried mushroom liquor, then transfer all but the last couple of tbsp or so of the liquor to a saucepan. Remove and rinse the actual mushrooms. You can chop these up and use them too, you just want all the grit from the mushrooms left behind in the jug.

Step 8

Heat the pan of mushroom liquor to a low boil, adding the chopped mushrooms and some ground pepper.

Step 9

Now make sure everything is ready; plates, cutlery and the onions are good to go, as the polenta needs to be served immediately.

Step 10

Add the carrot to the mushroom liquor, then pour the polenta in a steady stream in too, whisking it constantly. Let it absorb and bubble away for a couple of minutes, until thickened. Stir in the nutritional yeast and a squeeze of lemon.

Step 11

Serve the polenta topped with balsamic onions, drizzled with a little more vinegar to your taste, scattered with pine nuts and a few more freshly picked thyme leaves too if you like

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