Truffled Polenta

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Truffles. No I do not mean those beautiful chocolate bundles; instead, I am talking about the luscious, gorgeous, expansive, rare, highly praised fungus! Truffle polenta. No not chocolate polenta....which could in fact be interesting (I may have to try it out!). The main types of truffles are white or black. The white truffle is mainly from Northern Italy. More specifically Piedmont, Alba, Asti, and Tuscany. The black truffle is more common then the white. It can be found in more places. Primarily France. More specifically Périgord, Drôme and Gard (just to name a few).
A couple more facts:

• To make truffles more available to all some places now have imitation truffle products.
• There are different types of truffles for different seasons. 
• Originally pigs hunted for truffles; however, they ended up eating them, so now primarily specially trained, highly praised and sought after dogs hunt them! 

*To say goodbye to winter and hello to spring, I made this truffled polenta for lunch. This makes the perfect side dish, or even a vegetarian meal with a big salad.


*I realize that truffles are very rare; therefore, whatever you can get your hands on as far as truffles go will work. So, whether you have truffle cheese, fresh truffles, truffle paste, truffle butter, truffle oil, truffle salt, or truffle cream it will work! You can also do this recipe without the truffles too. As always be creative!

Directions:

For the mushrooms-
Roast mushrooms with salt, pepper and olive oil for about 15 mins. or until browned at 400 degrees F.

**For the polenta-
In a pot on the stove, bring about 6 cups of salted water to a steady boil. Whisk in a package of polenta slowly for about 3 mins. Take the pot off the heat. Add in about half a stick of butter.  Add freshly cracked black pepper, salt and whatever your truffle/s ingredients are. Add the roasted mushrooms with whatever liquid it let out. Add fresh chopped parsley.  Mix in a generous amount of freshly grated pecorino romano cheese or your truffle cheese. Serve with a little extra cheese on top for good measure and enjoy!

**Know that polenta firms up more as time goes by. If you wish to have it very sloppy then serve it right away and add a little more hot water towards the end. If you have left overs or as time goes on, it will harden. You can grill or even fry the firmer polenta! 

Happy Eatings

Have a truffled life