Mushroom & Spinach Polenta Stacks

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Ingredients

1 cup coarse polenta
4 cups water
3 tsp Urban Forager Mushroom Stock Concentrate
½ cup Parmesan or pecorino finely grated, (or nutritional yeast)
1 wheel of refrigerated camembert cheese (or vegan cheese)
2 large red onions, sliced thinly
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
A large bunch of spinach or rainbow chard, stalks removed and chopped roughly
500g button mushrooms, sliced in thirds
2 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves removed from stalks
1 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp of butter (or vegan butter)
Olive oil
A few micro herbs to garnish
Salt and Pepper to garnish and to taste

Method

Add the polenta and water to a medium sized heavy based saucepan
Add 2 tspn Urban Forager Beef Stock Concentrate and stir through
Cook on a low heat for 35-45 minutes or until grains become soft. Stir often to avoid catching
When the polenta is cooked through, remove from heat and add the cheese. Stir through, taste, and season if needed
Before the polenta has time to cool, spread evenly onto a flat oven proof tray around 30 x 26 cms in size
Set aside and allow to cool
When cooled cut into 9 x 9 cm squares or rounds. You will need 8 pieces
Lay the pieces individually (not on top of each other) on the oven tray, and set aside ready for warming
Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Gently heat 1 Tbspn butter and a little oil in a medium heavy based fry pan
Add the onion and thyme until they soften.
Add the mushrooms and 1 tspn of Urban Forager Mushroom Stock Concentrate
Saute until everything begins to caramelize ( you may need to add a little more butter and oil here)
Add the balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce, scrape up any sticky bits from the bottom and sides of the pan (these will be full of flavour) and cook until the mushrooms have browned a little more and absorbed all of the liquid. Taste and season if needed.
Remove everything from the pan and set aside
Line the oven tray with baking paper and place the polenta pieces onto the tray and into the oven to warm.
To the fry pan -add the remaining tablespoon of butter, a little olive oil, the minced garlic, and saute until translucent
Add the spinach or chard. Saute gently until just wilted and still bright green. Remove from the pan and set aside
Slice the camembert into 8 thick slices- or substitute for grated mozzarella
Remove the warmed polenta from the oven
Begin to layer the ingredients onto the oven tray. There should be two layers of polenta to each stack
Start with the Polenta, then some spinach. next the cheese, finally the mushrooms. Then begin another layer, finishing with the mushrooms on top
Return stacks to the oven for a few minutes or until the cheese melts
Remove from the oven, garnish and serve

Notes

For a vegetarian recipe, substitute Urban Forager Vegetable Stock Concentrate for the Beef Stock Concentrate.