Lentils with porcini mushrooms and polenta

Ingredients

For 1 serving

• Lentils60 g
• Porcini mushrooms150 g
• Corn flour50 g
• Shallot20 g
• Chopped tomatoes80 g
• Thyme2 g
• Extra virgin olive oil1 tablespoon
• Garlic1 clove
• Saltto taste
• Black pepperto taste

In season: September – November

Method

1. Bring the water for the polenta (about five times the volume of the cornmeal) to the boil and salt it. Pour in the cornmeal in a steady rain, whisking, then cook over the lowest heat for 30 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until soft and coming away from the sides.
2. Meanwhile rinse the lentils, chop the shallot and crush the garlic. Heat half the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry the shallot and garlic for 2–3 minutes, until the shallot is translucent.
3. Add the lentils, chopped tomatoes and enough water to cover them by about three fingers; bring to the boil and simmer over low heat, covered, for 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the sauce is thick.
4. While they cook, clean the porcini: scrape the base of the stem, wipe them with a damp cloth without rinsing under the tap and slice them about 5 mm thick.
5. Heat the remaining oil in a pan over high heat and sauté the porcini with the thyme for 5 minutes, without stirring too much, until golden and their water has evaporated; salt them at the end.
6. Stir the mushrooms into the lentils, remove the garlic and season with salt and pepper; serve the stew over the soft polenta.